Masterwork
by Oparu
Summary: The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions. Alfred Lord Tennyson.
1. Chapter 1

"You can't marry Annie."

Gregory Richards had never realized how much fire was in her eyes when she was upset. He'd never seen that passion in her before. It was distracting to say the least.

"You can't, and that's it. She's only a few years older than your daughter. Your daughter-" Bette took a breath and continued headlong down the warpath. Her sense of righteousness was as aflame as her strawberry blonde hair. "Caitlin, remember Caitlin? What would she think when her step-mother-"

The ex-Mrs Katzenkazrahi shuddered in disgust. "Went to high school with her? it's dispicable. It's a low point, even for you."

Gregory raised an eyebrow, and folded his fingers neatly into a steeple. "Anything else?"

"If you wanted to be married you never should had left-"

Gregory tapped his finger on the desk and shut her up. "Don't-"

"Someone has to tell you the truth." She shrugged at his look of warning. "I don't care what you do to me. You have to listen to reason."

His laughter rang through the ornate office but Gregory said nothing as he pushed the little velvet box forward on the desk. "Any other time, I wouldn't believe you. However-"

She throw up a glittering hand to stop him. "No, nothing you can say matters. You're a disgusting, greedy, reptilian, frozen-hearted-"

"I don't want Annie to marry me." Gregory left his chair and circled the desk. Lifting the box from the desk, he opened it and let her examine the star of light trapped inside the round ruby set in rose gold.

Bette whistled appreciatively and pulled it out of the case to compare it to her other rings. "What is that? 10? 12 carats?

"Eleven and three quarters." Gregory took it from her fingers and set it inside the case again. He held her hand gently as he started stripping off her rings.

"What are you doing?" Bette wondered aloud as he massaged the kinks out of her hands.

"Making some space. I want to see it on a woman's hand."

"Why do you have to take them all off?" Bette tried to pull her hands back, but he insisted. She hadn't realized how strong his fingers were before.

"I want to see it by itself." Gregory insisted, teasing her with the box. "It was more expensive then these anyway."

"Oh I see." Bette rolled her eyes impatiently. "Critizing my exes is not going to get you on my good side."

"Oh?" He raised a playful eyebrow. "Too bad." The rest of her wedding rings made a series of dull thuds as he dropped them on the desk. "Have you read Del's codicil?"

"No of course not. I just know that Annie has some ridiculous idea that you're going to marry her." Bette whistled as he lifted her hand. "How much was that?"

"It's rude to ask." Gregory quipped, but he smiled as she admired his choice. The smile faded as he drifted away. "But less than Olivia's."

"Olivia could buy a small country with that one." Bette acknodwledge as she played with the ruby in the light. "She still wears it. Puts it on every morning when she gets up."

"Habit." Gregory shrugged it off. "I'll admit I never thought I'd buy another one."

Bette started to rip it off her finger, her awe wearing off as she remembered how foolish he was being. "You shouldn't! Go convince Olivia-"

Shaking his head once firmly was enough warning. "You should keep it on. It looks lovely."

Bette turned it around her finger. "It does fit rather nicely, doesn't it? Almost like it was made for moi."

"It was."

She burst into laughter so quickily she started to choke. "Oh Gregory- Gregory- seriously. You shouldn't try to have a sense of humor." Her hand covered her heart. "You're going to give me a heart attack."

"I'm serious." Gregory crossed his arms over his chest and watched her eyes widen in her face. "Do you really think it was that hard to find a jeweler in town who knew your ring size?"

"But-"

He lifted a paper from the desk, cleared his throat to quiet her objection. "This is your departed brother's codicil. Although his determination to ruin my marriage bears a nod of admiration, his lawyer wasn't as through as I would have been. With this as poorly worded as it is, Annie's not the only one who can come into a fortune if I marry her."

Bringing her trembling hand to his lips, he smiled his most reptilian of smiles. "What do you say?"

Bette's lips parted in response, but she just shook her head.

Looking down at his neat suit, Gregory sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't make me go down on one knee. I just had this suit pressed this morning."

She pulled him up as he started to kneel. "Not to me Greggie." Bette swallowed and tried to slow the racing of her heart. Olivia was right about him. He was absolutely distracting when he wanted to be. "Save that..." Swallowing again brought some of her voice back. "What would it be like?"

Sensing negociations were starting to begin, Gregory smiled in soft victory. "I took the liberty of drawing up a suitable prenuptial agreement. You will be taken care of extremely well financially. Your every need, every whim, will be provided for. Naturally, I will control all of Del's stock certificates and have full control of his stake in the Liberty Corporation."

"How will it end?" She wondered grimly, looking into his chill eyes and accepting what she found there. "I've been in too many of these not to know to look for the bottom line."

For an instant regret flashed through him. "In the event of our divorce you will recieve a one time payment of one million dollars, followed by a generous annual stipend for the rest of your natural life."

Generous, but not quite as generous as Olivia's. Bette added silently as she took the prenup to look it over. She scanned down quickly, but after she found what she was looking for, she grew immediately bored with the legalease and handed it back. "There's no provision for divorce in the case of adultery for either of us."

"I thought you'd find that to your liking." Pulling a pen from inside his jacket he set the gleaming silver on the signature page. "I know I can trust you to be frank with me, even to the excess of what I want to hear."

Bette started again to protest, but he rested a hand on shoulder gently. "I like that about you. Please, allow me the same courtesy. Let me finish, and you can say whatever you like."

She bit her lip, reminding him uncomfortably of Olivia. Gregory forced that thought away. "I don't care who you choose to share your bed. I will ask that you live in my house and expect that you keep your "extra-ciricular activities" discreet. Marrying you should be enough scandal. I don't need to read about it in the tabloids."

"I can be-" Watching him roll his eyes, Bette stopped short.

"Discreet." Gregory filled in for her. "Meaning cautious, attentive, restrained, tactful-"

"Hey-" She picked up the pen and waved it threateningly at him. "If I sign this you're going to have to start being nice to me."

"I can be nice."

She snorted in disbelief. "I can be tactful."

As their eyes met they both started to laugh. "Perhaps we can learn to compromise. I don't want this to be unpleasant for you."

"I've never found you unpleasant." Bette offered as if it were the highest praise. She scrolled for her name and started to begin her flowery signature. "I've always been rather found of reptiles."

"Well good." He stalled her hand. "I'll get a notary." He tapped the intercom and summoned Carol to witness their agreement. "Are you sure this is what you want? I can give you an hour to think about it."

Bette blew him off with a wave of her hand. She stopped and stared longlingly at the ring on her finger. "You knew I couldn't say no to this, didn't you?"

"It really is your colors." Gregory added dryly as he directed Carol's attention to the prenup.

"It is." Bette decided with pride as she took the pen back and paused seriously. "We'll live together?"

He nodded.

"I can go shopping whenever I want?"

Again, Gregory nodded. A trace of a smile played around his thin lips.

"I can sleep with whoever, as long as I'm-" She paused as if adding an explitive. "Discreet?"

The smile blossomed impatiently. "Yes."

"And you'll leave Annie alone?" She continued as her heart began to race with excitement.

"Yes, yes, I promise."

Bette looked at the paper for a second and signed her name with a flourish. "Maybe number eight will be lucky." Her wink made it easier for him to smile as he signed his name neatly beneath hers. The prospect of a second marriage held nothing but the stink of failure. It wasn't that he disliked Bette. As Carol signed her name beneath both of theirs and stamped it with the seal of the notary public that made it official, he realized he could do far worse than Bette. Far worse indeed. He didn't love her, but he didn't loath her. She was reasonably attractive. In fact, when she took his hand and joined him in thanking Carol for her work, Gregory realized that sharing a bed with her might not be that bad.

The possibilities were pleasant. Certainly better than the tomblike seclusion his house had now whenever Caitlin, Cole and Trey weren't visiting. Sean didn't care, and Olivia- Olivia had come home from England with AJ Deschanel sniffing round her heels like a starving mongrel dog. Bette had helped him ruin AJ out of town once. She, entirely unbeknowst to her, was going to do it again.

"I took the liberty of having some of your things brought to the airstrip."

Bette's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Gutsy of you."

Shrugging as he shut the prenup into his briefcase, Gregory offered his arm as he shut off the lights to his office. "I play to win."

"Where are we going?" Bette let her hand slip into the crook of his elbow, wondering when she'd wake up from this very odd dream of hers.

"Where is the one place in the world where one should embark on a loveless marriage?"

Her face lit with amusement as she figured it out. "Will you wear a kilt? I bet you have lovely calves."

"I'm so glad both of you were able to make it to dinner." Caitlin gushed as she hugged her mother. "The house has been so quiet since Dad left."

"Where did Gregory go?" AJ asked politely as he slipped his arm around Olivia's back. "Out to London?"

"He didn't say." Cole kissed his wife's cheek, and gestured them into Gregory's house. "But, Rose didn't mind whipping up a fantastic dinner on very short notice."

"You're never going to believe what Trey did today." Caitlin took her mother's hand and pulled her into the dining room. "He was playing with his horsey, and his daddy-"

Cole beamed at Olivia and AJ but let Caitlin finish her story. "Helped him sit up. Cole and Trey have been working on sitting for nearly a month now, but he always falls over whenever Cole lets go. But today, Cole moved his hands and he stayed up! All by himself. He's going to be a genius."

"Caitlin already has him applying to Harvard by the time he's eight." Cole added with the same brilliant grin as he pulled out her chair.

"That's wonderful." AJ replied as he circled to Olivia's chair. Her eyes were strained when he caught her glance. Whenever they talked about Trey, she shut down. Of course she put on her best front for Caitlin, but whenever he saw her alone with Trey something was different. Something he couldn't put his finger on. "So Cole, how are the plans going for Trey's baptism? Everything in order?"

"I just visited the church this morning to talk to Father Antonio. He's thrilled to be doing the baptism, after he conducted our wedding." He rested his hand on top of Caitlin's as Rose started to serve the soup course. "Everything's coming full circle."

"Excuse me." Olivia stood up politely, leaving her cloth napkin in her chair. "I'll be back in a moment."

In the bathroom she clung to the cold marble of the sink and tried to force herself to concentrate on the present. In the back of her mind she could hear her baby. The quiet murmur of his breathing as he lay in her arms. She shuddered as she turned on the faucet. Splashing cold water on her face helped pull her back. Taking a deep breath, Olivia forced herself to smile at her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were too tight over the bones of her face. Her lips were too white from exhaustion.

She couldn't sleep. Not since she had been to the cabin. Not since she remembered that her baby was alive. Where was he? Was he all right? Who had him?

She forced herself to smile again. She couldn't risk letting anyone know. Not until she knew where he was and how to get him back. She had to get him back.

AJ was outside the bathroom door, waiting for her with the same patient smile. "Better?"

"A little." She took his hand and didn't resist as he pulled her into his arms.

"It's hard to listen to Caitlin be so happy, isn't it?" AJ seemed to realize his understatement the moment it left his mouth. "I'm sure she appreciates how much you do for her. How much of yourself you give up for her."

"It's not like that." Olivia insisted as she pulled herself back. "I love Caitlin."

"More than yourself I fear." AJ brushed a curl of dark brown hair back out of her face. "It's one of the things I love about you."

She smiled weakly, touched by his concern, but unable to answer it. "Let's go back to dinner."

He touched her hair again, searching her eyes for the answers she kept buried inside. Like a still lake, her eyes revealed nothing more than the reflection of his own confusion. "All right, if you're sure."

Olivia squeezed his hand. "I'm hungry and Rose still makes the best shrimp. Come on." He followed her feet back to the dining room. There was a surety in her steps, a confidence in the way her heels struck the floor that promised she could still put on a masterful performance.

AJ caught up to her as he pulled out her chair. "Did I ever tell you that you missed your calling as an actress?"

"I'll make sure to bring that up the next time we have a fight. I can say I'm just preparing for a role." The journey of her eyes from the table to his face before they dove back innocently towards the pasta making it's rounds of the table. She still made his heart skip like a little boy. What fate had brought them back together on that ship? What luck was it that his ideal remained intact? Worn about the edges, to be sure, but the story of Olivia's life was so much fuller than it had been when he'd last graced it's pages. Perhaps this time- he raised his glass to her glittering blue eyes- his contribution would be more than a chapter on the fickleness of young love.


	2. fairy tale

It began with a thud on the patio. The echoing sound of laughing voices as someone fumbled a key in the lock of the house. Olivia looked up from glass of sherbet and met the confused eyes of her family.

Caitlin managed to look hopeful. "Guess daddy's back early."

"Wonderful." Cole muttered into his spoon.

AJ shared a look with him that agreed with that sentiment. When Olivia turned to him, he calmed his expression. "I'm sorry. You know how I feel about him." He touched her hand as she stood up, drawing her attention to his convivial smile. "He's a tough act to follow."

Olivia raised an eyebrow, a true attempt at being playful. "He did have to follow you once."

"But he made all the right choices then." AJ followed her to the foyer, as curious as everyone else to see what Gregory found so funny. "He got something I was foolish enough to let slip away."

"Maybe he's just smarter than you." Olivia quipped as she paused to check her hair in the mirror. Since the divorce had gone through only a few days ago, Gregory still seemed like her husband. After twenty years, how could she not? She knew it was foolish, but she knew he'd notice if a bit of it was out of place. He'd never say a word, but he'd notice. He always noticed.

"Oh there's no arguing that." AJ sighed as he watched her tuck a stray piece behind her ear. "Not at all. I'd never want to slog through the years he put in to get where he is. I like where I am. Being a millionaire playboy who only throws his weight around when it seems like a good idea, suits me."

Olivia turned away form the mirror. She took a step towards him, got on her tiptoes, but turned in surprise as a crash of something porcelain cut through the hallway.

"You did what!" Caitlin gasped nearly incomprehensibly.

Olivia turned from AJ, missing his sigh of disappointment as she followed the sound.

Bette stood with her arm around Gregory's back. The shattered noise had been the final gasp of a beautiful Chinese vase Olivia remembered getting from Gregory's parents the one awkward Christmas they'd spent together. Bette's face was far redder than her hair, but she was dressed smartly in a neat navy blue suit. Something in Gregory's taste. It was odd to see it on her.

"You look lovely Bette." AJ took her hand and turned her around, spinning her enough to make her blush all the more. "Subtle is a new look for you." He lifted her hand to his mouth. "But I like it-"

He stopped short and widened his eyes in admiration. "That's a beautiful ring. Isn't it Cole?"

"Cole is our resident jewelry expert, isn't he?" Gregory took Bette's hand from AJ and held it up for Cole's opinion. "Well Cole, did I make a good choice?"

Cole studied it seriously and nodded. "It's a lovely stone. Russian? In rose gold? He touched it with a fingertip and nodded in admiration. "About eleven and a half?"

"Very good." Gregory took Bette's hand back and held it possessively. "But you know I'd only get the best."

"Of course." Cole was quiet for a moment, but he was the one to put it together first. "Why did you buy Bette a ring?"

"Especially a ring like that daddy..." Caitlin looked down at her own hand and stopped cold.

Cole got it first. AJ clicked a moment later started to speak, but Cole was faster. "It's an engagement ring, isn't it?"

Olivia took a sudden step backwards, hitting the wall just as her knees started to get weak. She must have heard wrong.

"Not quite dimples." Bette tucked her arm around Gregory's and met their confused looks with an apologetic smile. "Gregory and I were just married in Las Vegas."

Olivia's heart leapt into her throat. It was hard to swallow around it.

Caitlin started to laugh, like she had when she'd been frightened as a little girl. "Daddy, this is a joke isn't it?"

Cole and AJ shared a long look. "I think he's serious Cate. That's a wedding ring." Cole corrected as he started to lead them into the living room.

Gregory nodded to Rose as she picked up the luggage. "The master bedroom if you'd be so kind. The rest of Mrs. Richards' things will arrive in the morning."

Olivia shook her head to clear it. She was Mrs. Richards. She was Gregory's wife. She slept in the master bedroom.

But she wasn't, not anymore. She lived with Bette and Annie- Olivia stopped herself. She lived with Annie. "I'm going to have to evict that redheaded viper." Her whisper caught AJ's attention and his smirk calmed her a little.

Bette stopped outside of the living room and let AJ slip past her. Her blue eyes were quiet and soft with feeling. "It wasn't about you Livie. God knows, you're the last one I'd ever want to hurt."

"Three days." Olivia replied cooly, feeling the words shatter on her tongue. "It's only been three days."

"It's not about love." Bette blocked her as she tried to slip past. "Del- he put some legal thingy in his will that-"

Olivia tried to push her way past.

"He was going to marry Annie. I had too stop him."

Olivia drew herself up to her full height and narrowed her eyes. "I could have killed her and not missed the bullet. But you-" Her lips tightened. "You're my oldest friend. My best friend. My confidant-"

Bette's feathers were more than a little ruffled. "Don't get all high and mighty with me. You divorced him. You left him, you tossed him aside!" She dropped her voice to a whisper, but it struck Olivia like a physical blow. "Don't you know how terrible it is to be lonely? To wake up alone in an empty bed and wonder if I should even bother getting up that day. No one's going to notice if I'm not around. The office won't notice if I don't bother to come in. My daughter doesn't even write back to my Christmas cards. I have a list of exes longer than the Golden Gate bridge, but it's been years since anyone told me I was beautiful in the morning."

"You know what that feels like Livie." Bette stared her down with quiet righteousness.

"I never looked twice at one of your husbands." Olivia set her jaw and her eyes froze as a wintry breeze blew across her heart. "Ever."

"You were in love." Bette corrected for her calmly, reaching for her only to have her best friend pull bodily away. "You had the kind of love that strikes once in a lifetime, once in ten lifetimes and things happened. Things you couldn't control, fate you couldn't handle, but you walked away. Don't begrudge me my right to your castoffs. Dammit Livie, if you want him take him."

Tugging at her ring, Bette held it up to Olivia. "Take this and march in there and tell him you want him back. I'll be old news and you'll have your husband again."

"He's not-" Olivia shut her eyes for a moment to calm the stinging sensation. "My husband."

"Then you have no right to say he can't be mine." Bette shook her head slowly, watching Olivia's internal catastrophe with a heavy heart. "I will always, always love you and be here for you. But I'm sick of being alone. I'm tired and I'm empty. He keeps me from noticing. He keeps me from doubting and at this point, when everything's going to hell around me, I want something to be there when I need it. Someone to tell me it's going to be all right in the end."

"I want to live the fairy tale. Just for a little while."

Olivia took a slow breath. She couldn't make her mouth respond the way she wanted it too. She wanted to say something considerate. "Then the wicked princess will leave you to it."

Bette spent a moment trying to pull herself together. Trying to find something to say that made her stop feeling like such a terrible person.

"Olivia-" The heavy oak door slammed shut. Bette stared down at the glimmering ruby on her hand. What had she done?


	3. intimate strangers

Bette washed the makeup from her face and tossed the dirty washcloth into the hamper by the sink. She reached into her bag for her toner and stopped short. She could unpack her things. She could move them into the bathroom, just as Gregory suggested but it had only been six days. For six days, she had been his wife.

It didn't even seem real. She'd been in the master bedroom before. She'd spent sleepless nights with Olivia after the baby died. She'd watched the slow destruction of the best thing to happen to her friend. She'd watched- unable to help, unable to understand, unable to even think of something to say.

It could be worse. Bette stopped herself softly. It could be the old house. It could be THE bed. The bed Olivia's children had been conceived in. She couldn't sleep in that one. Ever. It would be wrong. It was still wrong. Every part of it was wrong but-

She shut off the gleaming silver faucet and reached for a towel. But she was happy. Sean was a sweet kid. Trey was a joy to have around. Cole and Caitlin warmed up to the idea with surprising ease. Caitlin wanted her father to be happy, and Cole wanted Gregory to be distracted. Bette chuckled when she realized she certainly fit the latter.

Gregory wasn't unhappy. He was polite. Like a gentle roommate he kept up his things. He was neat. He was quiet when she slept and always had a wry comment to start the day. It had taken some getting used for her to after so many years alone, but Gregory seemed comforted. That she hadn't believed, but he was relieved just by her presence. He looked at her the first morning and smiled.

There really was something special about his smile.

Bette dropped her clothes into the chute in the back of the closet and pulled on a pair of black silk pajamas. Men's nightclothes were so much easier to deal with. Gregory had found that funny.

"I expected something-" He had paused and looked up from his work as she climbed into bed next to him. "Something brighter."

"Sleep should be taken seriously." Bette had quipped back, but there was something complementary in his grin. She liked it. She really liked it and like was becoming too soft of a word. He was handsome, classic and constrained like an old Hollywood leading man. "Besides, these are comfortable."

Tonight, she opened a bottle of wine in the kitchen and brought it up to bed. Who knew when he'd be home and it was so much easier to sleep with a few glasses of wine warming her stomach. It had taken nearly twenty minutes to find something she knew wasn't too expensive in the wine cellar. She still couldn't open a seventy dollar bottle of wine without feeling a little odd about it.

She settle for the '82 Bordeaux. It was his favorite grape, and she knew the '82 hadn't been too fabulous of a year. Bette settled down with her notes for tomorrow's column that she wasn't really going to look over. If she had them that was enough. It was almost working that way.

She was nearing the bottom of her second glass when he came back from the office. Gregory didn't even look at her as he started to strip off his suit. The jacket went over the closest chair. His tie went straight to the floor. He returned her amused smile as he fiddled with the laces of his shoes.

"Fourteen hour days were more fun when I was younger." He dropped a shoe to the floor and wiggled his toes in the open air as a balled up sock followed his shoe to the carpet. "Strike that." He reached for the other shoe and tore it from his foot. "They've never been fun."

The bed creaked as she slipped to the foot. Handing him the newly filled glass of wine that had been hers up to that moment made him smile gratefully. "Thank you.'

"It's your wine." Bette watched as he downed it all in a smooth gulp.

Making a face as he retreated to his closet, Gregory removed his shirt with his back to her. "Why did you pick the '82? I try to save that for company I don't like."

"I didn't want to open a good one." Bette explained defensively. When he turned around, bare-chested and incredibly delicious in just the trousers from his suit, Gregory looked truly amused.

"You can open the good ones. Especially if I'm home." He rolled his neck until it popped easily back into place. "After all- life is too short to drink bad wine."

He nodded to the glass she held in her naked fingers. "Unless it's the one that happens to be open."

Giggling as she filled it and took a sip before passing it over, Bette started to look away as he undid his belt. Then she changed her mind. Licking her lips without even realizing her hunger, Bette felt his eyes on her face. "I've often wondered what it was, for you. Olivia told me of course, but it's different to see it for yourself."

"First hand?"

Bette felt the rush of blood heat her face as Gregory slid his pants easily off his hips and revealed simple navy blue boxer shorts.

"So to speak." He revealed in her blush for a moment before turning back to his closet. The pajama top rolled easily across his shoulders, and soon the bottoms covered the legs that had looked so wonderful in the kilt he'd wore to their impromptu wedding.

"I don't think I've ever experienced the quiet Bette." Gregory joined her on the bed, listening to the creak of the frame as she looked down in shock at the hand on her thigh. His fingers were warm. Distracting.

"You get me flustered." Bette stared at his fingers as they toyed with the fabric covering her leg. "And then it's hard to think of what to say."

"So I make you speechless simply by my presence?" He leaned close enough for her to smell wine and expensive aftershave. "Or is it something else?" He took the wine glass from her hand and her heart skipped a beat as his free hand tightened on her leg. He didn't. He wouldn't-

Bette swallowed slowly and backed up to the bottle of bordeaux that was disappearing quickly between them. What if she did?

"You just make it hard to talk." The wine splashed onto his hand as hers trembled in the pouring.

"I make you speechless." He raised his hand to lick deep red droplets off of his hand.

"You make me speech-impared." Bette took the wine away and kidnapped his hand. "There's a difference." Her tongue made quick work of the spilled wine and his eyes darkened with anticipation.

"Are you sure it's not just a general intoxication?" Gregory took the wine back and finished it again. His face was starting to deepen in color.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "From you?"

His clean hand caressed her chin. "From the wine." His eyes were close enough to swallow the light in the room. Had they always been so dark? Why hadn't she noticed before?

"Oh-" The empty glass hung limply from his fingers. She reached for the bottle, but he stopped her. Playing with her fingers as he moved, he brought her hand back to his chest.

"Which is gone." The glass's position grew more precarious as he closed the distance between them. "I suppose we could always get another bottle."

"They're all the way downstairs." Her eyelashes were still damp from the sink. They were nearly insubstantial, unlike the darkness of Olivia's. It almost made it easier.

"Way too far." Gregory's lips were a breath away from her own. "I think I'm intoxicated enough."

She licked her lips nervously. He wouldn't. She wouldn't. They shouldn't-

His mouth was as warm as it was soft. Bette wasn't sure who had closed the last part. Who had changed the tone of their relationship from quiet to desperately intimate.

But she didn't care.

The wine glass tumbled across the coverlet of the bed and bounced gently on the thick carpet. His hand was better off grabbing her shoulder. Pushing her back towards the head of the bed.

She gave as good as she got. Her tongue won the battle for supremacy and she heard him laugh in the back of his throat. He liked to lose occasionally. Gregory's hand left her shoulder as he forced her back into the bad. He grabbed her breast, nearly rougher than she liked, but the wine dulled the sensitivity of her flesh.

Instead of pain, it made her breath speed all the more. Her knee slipped up along his side and the simple presence of his body was enough to bring a flash of something she'd tried to forget she even wanted. His lips toyed with the skin on the way down to the collar of her pajama top. Bette removed the obstacle of buttons with quick fingers. He reached for the lamp and her top hit the floor in the dark.

The darkness was comforting. In the light she could watch his face, but, without it, he was anyone. That was preferred. It was easy to run her hands over the back of a stranger and relax into his arms. His thumb brushed her shoulder blade for a second before digging in. His hands were rough on the skin of her stomach. She tore through the buttons of his shirt and dove delicate fingers into the hair on his chest in retaliation. He chuckled, purring deep in the back of his throat. His teeth scraped the line of her collarbone and he licked his way across one pink nipple.

He found her hand sliding beneath the waist of her bottoms and entwined it with his own. His fingers searched her for a moment, discovering the hidden places of her body as his own desires became steadily more obvious. There was no regret as she stroked the soft hair on the crown of his head. No guilt as her teeth toyed with fullness of his upper lip.

Gregory's hand slid up her stomach, danced around her breast long enough to win a voiceless moan. Names were too personal. They brought a sense of realism neither of them wanted to deal with. He was heavy and new when he mounted her. She tightened her eyelids and turned her face away. Her teeth clenched tightly together and he turned her face roughly back.

He wanted to look.

Bette didn't have a choice once she opened her eyes. She couldn't look away. He captivated her eyes as easily as he had conquered her body. He was the center of her existence. For tonight, he was everything. She was well versed in the art of becoming a lover. The delicate balance was best achieved when she knew what she wanted. tonight she wasn't sure what it was, but only that he had it.

Gregory rolled back, leaving a gaping space for a moment as they switched positions. Her bottoms followed her top on the tenuous journey to the floor. Her hair flew back across her shoulders. He pulled it back and dug his fingers into it. Her knee slipped up along his side. Sweat was slick on her back, pooling neatly at the base of her spine. The coverlet bunched beneath them, torn from its place. His hips were hard beneath her as they rose to meet her.

There were no whispered names. No cries of passion. Her fingers grew taunt, before she dug them into the muscles of his chest. Intimacy was limited to a silent understanding. Bodies were easy to share, to meld together without anything more than a few words of consent. Consent had been given and nothing else was asked.


	4. heartache

AJ watched as she picked her way through dinner. He took her plate away and covered it to wait for her in the fridge. Every time they ate together he put it away, hoping she'd realize she was hungry later. Each morning, when he woke up alone, he threw it out.

"I'm thinking of getting a dog." He began lightly as he returned with the steaming teapot.

"Hmm?" Olivia raised an eyebrow but he knew the look of quiet apology on her face. "I'm sorry."

"If you're ever really sorry, I'm not going to believe you." He quipped as he poured and offered her the pitcher of cream. "I'm becoming completely desensitized to the words "I'm sorry.""

"I'm-" She stopped and furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "That's unfortunate."

"I said I'm thinking of getting a dog." AJ repeated as he yelled from the kitchen. "He'll be able to get fat on table scraps."

"I'm s-" Olivia bit her lip and forced a smile. "Maybe you should get a dog."

"See, it's not that hard, is it?" AJ set the chocolate cake in front of her and settled comfortably into his chair with his own.

"What?" She dragged her finger through the butter-cream frosting and licked it clean absentmindedly.

AJ was already half-way through his piece but he paused thoughtfully with an upraised fork. "Letting things not be your fault."

"Oh-" Olivia took a bite of cake and favored him with a small smile.

AJ let her eat in silence as he relished his cake. After he finished he retreated from the dining room. Olivia relaxed slightly, letting her tea cool as she ate her cake slowly. As if finishing it was something to be avoided at all costs. She was getting used to the silence, even enjoying it a bit after the noise in her head. The cacophony that demand she'd do something about Gregory. Something about Gregory and Bette. Gregory and- She couldn't think about it. She just couldn't.

Then the piano started. Tentative, even mournfully, a loving hand tapped out the melody one note at a time. It was distracting, even from the tangle of thoughts she couldn't put away for more than a moment. She picked up her cake. AJ would stop hovering if he knew she'd finished something.

She'd seen the piano in his living room, neatly covered with a dark green dust cloth. Olivia thought it was for show, something that came with the apartment to add to the value and spike the rent. She and AJ never talked about his apartment. Usually she responded to AJ's polite invitation to dinner, ate quietly and left as soon as it was polite to do so. He never pressed her. Never asked her to stay. She knew the disappointment in his eyes every time he walked her out to the taxi.

It seemed he was changing his tactics. His back was to her as he sat on the bench of the baby grand piano. It's smooth finish spiraled away from him like black silk. It was beautiful, and from the sound of it, a fairly expensive, well-kept instrument.

AJ added another hand, slowly finding the chords that fit his melancholy piece. "Maman made me learn to play." He explained as he nodded to her reflection in the finish in front of him. "All properly brought up young boys can play an instrument. We started with piano-" He dropped to the lower register and teased a deep minor chord out of the instrument. "I never really showed much talent, so I stayed with piano."

Olivia took a step towards him, leaving her desert plate on the coffee table as she watched him fall into the music.

"I spent so much time hating to practice as a little boy that I'm afraid I never got very good." He stopped, pulling his hands into his lap for a moment thoughtfully. "But then-" He started into the tentative melody that had drawn her into the room in the first place. "A day came when I was lost. I'd been wandering Europe. I didn't care who I was, or whom I spent the night with. and one lonely evening I retreated to the piano in the lounge."

"And it was like coming home." He chuckled softly as he fumbled a difficult chord progression. "The devil you know and all that. I still wasn't any good, but it was familiar. When I sat there-" He fell into an etude with exaggerated care. Mocking his own boyhood as she took another step towards him. "I could hear Maman in the background."

AJ hunched over the keys in mock terror. "Practice practice practice! Armando James Deschanel Junior- you'll never amount to anything if you don't practice." He winked at her impishly. "And she was right. Here I am with a son I barely know and a life as empty and dusty as a neglected piano."

He turned away, keeping his pain to himself. "But-" Beethoven's moonlight sonata erupted from his fingers. He leaned into the piano and closed his eyes. "I have been taking lessons."

Olivia watched his face in the reflection. Wondering if he'd cheat and open his eyes. AJ was calm, lost in his music. She watched his fingers float nimbly over the ivory and black keys. It was comforting. The rhythm of the piece was soothing, and the notes just tragic enough to avoid grating on the wounds of her heart.

She followed AJ's lead. Sitting down next to him on the piano bench and watching his fingers. Letting the sweep of the music take her away from herself. Away from the emptiness. If only for a moment.

The music swelled, growing in volume like the increase in the sea as a storm blew in from the east. There was a darkness in it that spoke to her, resonated within her chest. Olivia let her eyes close.

The piece ended and the notes faded from the room with an ease of passage she'd never found in life. Why couldn't she just fade away? Float to the bleak unknown and give up on the pain of this life?

AJ's eyes were open when hers finally brought her back. They were centimeters away. He was centimeters away- He leaned in, closing the distance between them.

The scattering of notes as her hand pushed off the piano in terror echoed in discord through the apartment. Breaking the stillness. Olivia fled to her purse and the front door. AJ was only a step behind.

"I'm sorry. She closed her eyes and shook her head as she fumbled for the knob and her way out. "It was a lovely dinner. I'm just not ready for that. I hope-" Olivia tried to pull herself together but only made it seem like more effort was required.

The door clicked shut before AJ even had a chance to say goodbye. "Thank you for sharing it with me." He offered to the door as he shook his head foolishly. "And no Olivia. It's not you that's sorry."

She didn't know how she'd ended up there. She'd just been walking, fleeing AJ's beach-front apartment in the desperate hope that somewhere else was better. It wasn't. The pier felt like Gregory. The lights reminded her of a hundred indistinct walks down to the end. How many sunsets had they seen together? How many times had she opened her eyes to find him a breath away and moments from kissing her.

It wasn't that she didn't want AJ to kiss her. She wasn't as cold and dried up as she wanted to be. She wasn't cold at all. Her heart screamed as it burned in her chest. Flames that never went away. Guilt, self-reproach, remorse, envy, hatred- they all added to the fire. A fire with a will of it's own. A hunger that wouldn't rest until she was consumed by it. Eaten alive by the blaze within.

She shuddered. The wind of the ocean was cold, and she'd fled AJ's in an airy silk blouse. She'd left her jacket behind. Olivia shook her head and let the rock beneath her take the weight of her feet. She'd have to apologize better in the morning. She let her eyes close, trying to bring back the moment of peace that had come with music.

Hands closed on her shoulders, easing the tension out with practiced, gentle fingers. "This is a place for lovers. Secret rendezvous. It's a cold, lonely place by yourself Liv-"

She didn't have the strength to jump away. Olivia sighed and lowered her head to give him access to her neck. "I hate you."

"I know." His hands left her neck for a moment and returned with warmth, his jacket went around her shoulders in the most familiar of comforts. "Bette's beside herself whenever Caitlin mentions your name."

"You don't?" She cut back. Olivia didn't think he deserved the luxury of eye contact.

Gregory settled his fingers into the knots of her neck. The warmth of his hands spread up under her hair. It was enough to make her shivers return. "I don't." He responded with a surprising vulnerability.

Silence between them held more comfort than anything he could have said. It was quiet, and the quiet couldn't have an accusing tone. It didn't have anything they needed to say, but at least it was free from what they couldn't.

"I still hate you." the words were bitter, more acrid than she remembered them tasting. "It hasn't even been more than a week. Just six days. Six days and you're living with my best friend. What kind of game are you playing Gregory?"

She left the rock, ready to whirl on him to tear him apart. Olivia could rip the smug look from his face with her bare hands and she'd enjoy it.

"It's not about you." Gregory offered as if that was all she needed to know. She could picture the complacent look on his face. His hands would be in his pockets.

"Isn't it? My bed- My best friend- My-" She stopped short, realizing how much she'd almost given away. "It's revenge for Del isn't it? it's some sort of sick revenge."

"It's not revenge." He was standing behind her. She could feel his presence. He had to be-

Olivia turned around and stared at the empty wall of the grotto. She crossed her arms over her chest and shivered in the wind.

She was alone. She was always alone. He'd been gone from her reach the moment he'd left her hospital room in that horrible clinic. Gregory was locked in himself, so deeply he might never find his way out again.

The laughter bubbled up bitterly and became tears before she realized what was happening. They were both lost. She'd wandered the world and he'd cut it out. Her heart burned so terribly she felt she'd been destroyed and Gregory already had been.

He'd married Bette for money. Stock, AJ had explained over dinner. It was nothing to him, just a means to an end. AJ was worried about Bette. Her heart had been broken so many times in the past- She'd been cruel.

"What's one more heartache?" Olivia covered her mouth when the true irony of it lanced through her with a fresh stab of agony. "How much can one more possibly hurt?"

Even the phantom Gregory didn't want to answer her.


	5. unconfessed

Olivia's eyes rolled back up in her head. If Annie hadn't have pulled Trey from her arms. He would have fallen to the floor of the mission with her. But instead, Annie shoved him into Sean's arms where he was safe. Gregory spared a glance to the little boy for a moment, but he couldn't keep his eyes away. He was closest to her, barely more than a foot away. They hadn't spoken. She'd met his eyes once. She looked tired.

Guilt welled up when he looked at her, exploding into a flash of pain when she fainted. She wasn't as strong as he was. Olivia couldn't lock everything away. Her guilt and despair were still bleeding. Still fresh.

He caught her head, kept it safe from the hard marble floor. AJ was getting a glass of water. Annie was complaining about how fragile Olivia was. How unstable she was ever since they'd lost the baby. He ignored it. He stroked the hair out of her eyes and worried that her forehead was cold. Was it supposed to be cold?

Gregory chastised himself for even worrying about her. He shouldn't be worried about her. But would she even want him too? From what she'd said to Bette in the hallway, she hated him. She hated them both.

Olivia moaned, moving her head slightly. He cupped her cheek, holding her head still. "Don't move. Don't move Liv." The whispered nickname was an afterthought. He almost hoped she wouldn't hear it.

"My baby..." Her eyelashes fluttered, especially dark over the pale cast of her cheek. "My baby..."

"Shhh- It's all right. You're safe now. You're safe."

She didn't pull away from him. Even when her eyes started to open, she didn't pull away.

"Hey." Gregory began softly. "How're you doing?"

She sat up. AJ caught her shoulders this time when she was too abrupt to move. For a moment their eyes met. He would have given anything to just be able to keep the moment. That perfect moment of silent understanding. It went beyond hatred. She couldn't hate him. If she could, she would have already. It would have happened years and years ago.

"I just need a moment." She pulled away from AJ, put up her hands in defense. "I'm fine. I just-" Olivia bit her lip and looked to Gregory, surprising him as her eyes sought his for succor.

"Let her go." He ordered with the quiet control that had won him so many cases. Caitlin looked upset as Cole rubbed her back. Trey seemed calmer in Sean's arms, the momentary upset of the water on his head was forgotten. "She'll be all right."

Bette snuck closer, taking his hand and adding her support. "What was it?"

Gregory shrugged and reached for his forehead as if messing up his hair would straighten his mind. "Hell if I know."

She clucked her tongue and put her finger over his lips. "You're going to be struck by lightning if you keep talking like that in the house of God."

He leaned in closer, trying to decide if he preferred this shade of lipstick to last. Darker was better, he noted as he squeezed her hand. "If I didn't get struck coming in, God isn't watching today." He sank into the pew for a moment and looked over his shoulder.

AJ didn't wait. He immediately started to follow her even as she headed for the women's bathroom.

"Do you think he'll get through to her?" Bette wondered aloud as she sank down next to him. Her heavy sigh argued in the negative.

"He won't." He shouldn't talk to her. What could AJ possibly have to say to Olivia? How could he understand? The only child AJ seemed to have acknowledged, he wasn't sure how many went unclaimed, was Cole, and it was obvious how Cole had turned out. Gregory left Bette without an explanation. She rested her hand on the back of the pew and her head over her hand.

He loved Olivia. He would always love her. A few quick steps he was only a second behind AJ.

"Come on suave, just let him go. God knows they have enough to talk about without you insinuating yourself in there." She tapped her fingers on the top of the pew, ignoring the funny look Cole gave her as it echoed through the church.

"Come on-" She hoped again, watching as Gregory took AJ's arm and stopped him from barging into the women's bathroom.

Sean joined her on the pew. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"What else cutie?" She tilted her head to the side and stared down at her wedding ring. Bette lifted her chin and managed a smile. "Your mother and why they're both exactly what she needs." Reaching for Trey's soft little cheek, she wrinkled her nose at him and earned a baby smile. "And they are, in a way. AJ's not asking anything of her." She inclined her head back towards the two men staring each other down on the other side of the room. "That's what he just said. He's not trying to force her to change how she feels, like Gregory is."

Sean raised an eyebrow in a surprising imitation of his father. "How can you tell?"

"Years of practice," She tapped his shoulder playfully held out her hands for Trey. "After all-" She bounced the little boy on her knee and kept her eyes on AJ's face. "They don't call me the queen of the night for nothing."

"Now what are they saying?" He prodded with a trace of disbelief. "If you really can tell."

"AJ says that Gregory's just trying to control her, like he always has. Gregory said something that pissed AJ off, but if your father doesn't turn around, I won't be able tell what he's saying." Trey dug a baby fist into Bette's hair and nearly pulled out a handful. She winced and reached up to de-tangle him.

"Too bad they just can't shout at each other." Sean offered with mild amusement. "It would make it a lot easier."

Bette grinned and turned Trey around so he could stick both hands into her hair because he seemed so intrigued by it. "They're certainly spending a lot of effort on it. I think they're both trying not to upset poor Livie any further."

Her hands were too full of the baby to cover her giggling when Olivia slipped past both of the arguing men and disappeared into the darkness on the other end of the church.

Even Sean looked slightly relieved. "Maybe she won't have to deal with either of them."

"Gregory will figure it out." Bette offered as she turned away. She looked into Trey's big blue eyes raised her voice to a playful register. "Won't he little man? Yes he will. Yes he will."

The darkness of the confessional was comforting after the harsh light of the bathroom. It even muffled the sound of Gregory and AJ arguing a few feet away. Finally, mercifully they stopped. Someone walked back towards the others and Olivia let the voices fade away. They didn't matter.

Trey was her son. She remembered every horrible moment of Annie ripping him from her arms in the cabin. Trey was hers. Hers and Gregory's. He had to be, no matter what Annie said. No matter what terror she couldn't shake off that he was Cole's son.

She dropped her head into her hands and let the horrible day pass by without her. She could just stay here, in the darkness and wait for it all to go away. Olivia knew she couldn't go out there. She couldn't look at her baby boy in Caitlin's arms and know how wrong it was that he was there. How desperately wrong it all was because she was trapped. More trapped than she had been in her amnesia. More trapped than she even had been back in that cabin so many dreadful months ago.

Her head was too heavy to stay up on its own and on top of that it was still spinning. Why was this happening now? Why was this happening at all? What on earth had she done to possibly deserve this chaos?

The door on the other side opened and shut with a dull click. Someone settled into the pew next to her on the other side of the grating and waited patiently. Who'd seen her go in? Olivia was nearly certain no one had noticed her escape from the bathroom. So she waited. Maybe it was another hallucination. Another fantasy of Gregory that would leave her heart naked and terrified to be alone once more.

"You shouldn't blame Bette." Gregory began as Olivia sat up quickly in surprise. Her head protested and she breathed in quickly to steady herself. "I asked her. I planted the idea in her head, I drew up the papers."

She leaned back against the back of the confessional, letting her eyes shut against the darkness. "I know."

"She misses you." He continued softly, nearly as gentle as he had been when she woke up with her head in his lap. "More than she lets on, even to me I think."

Without her permission, her hand moved to the wall of the confessional. He was close enough to touch. Remove the wall between him and she could collapse into his arms. Confess her terrible secret and let him take her burden from her shoulders. He could carry the weight she couldn't. He'd know what to do.

"I don't want to fight with her." Olivia admitted as her voice threatened to crack under the strain.

The grating was cold beneath his fingers as he reached towards her. Gregory couldn't help picturing her face. The tears threatening her eyelashes, the strain tight in her mouth. If he could touch her he could take it away, but she was miles beyond the other wall of the confessional. Whatever secrets she was hiding, Olivia intended to keep.

"Then don't." He imagined his thumb ran along the line of her cheekbone and chased a tear away. He could nearly feel it drying on his hand. "She was your friend before we were-" Gregory couldn't find a word. "Before we were us. I think you should keep her around. She has a lot of redeeming, even endearing qualities. If you need to hate someone-"

Olivia took a deep breath and pictured his hands in his lap as he went silent. She missed his hands. The warmth and strength, but most of all the kindness of them. "I don't." She stood up. He caught a glimpse of her, just the perfect line of her back and the back of her thigh before the door to the confessional clicked shut.

He closed his eyes, listening to her footsteps fading into the oppressive silence of the church. "Of course you don't Liv. You've always been better than me that way."


	6. about us

"You're sure you don't mind taking him?" Caitlin asked wistfully as she waved at Trey in Gregory's arms. "A week seems like a really long time. Cole, doesn't it seem like a really long time?"

"He'll be fine." Cole seemed unconvinced and his look of comfort was a little forced as he looked at the innocent smile Trey lavished on Gregory. "This is about his very beautiful mother getting the kind of vacation she deserves." He leaned down to kiss her cheek and the light in his eyes had decidedly more amorous ideas.

Bette watched Gregory's jaw tightened and jumped in. "Save some of that for the boat tiger. Now go on, get out of here. The car's waiting." She shooed them both towards the door, watching as they got into the taxi. "And don't call us. We'll be busy. Doing important parental-type things..." She looked over at Gregory and shrugged. "Whatever those are."

He laughed and bounced Trey in his arms as he headed for the study. "I'm sure you'll figure it out while I'm at the office."

He set Trey in his chair and kept an eye on him as he packed his briefcase. Bette shut the door in case Sean was home and happened to walk by at an inopportune moment. She watched Gregory playing with his grandson and remembered when Emily was a baby and briefly, she'd been a family.

Trey giggled and waved chubby fists in the air as Gregory made faces at him for a moment.

"I hate to ruin your preparation for a long day as a hard-edged lawyer-" Bette teased sardonically as she crossed her arms over her purple-flowered bathrobe. "But I couldn't help wondering-" She tumbled over her words. Gregory clicked his briefcase shut and waited patiently.

As soon as she got over the hump, everything she was thinking fell out in a rush. "Do we need to talk? About us? Are we getting into something we can't handle? Are we going to hate each other later?"

"I think we're all right." Gregory answered her questions in a smooth progression. "We're both adults. We've been a little intoxicated each time it's happened."

"Three times!" Bette corrected with a chocked giggle. "And last night we didn't even get to the bottom of the bottle."

"Thirty-year old Port isn't drunk lightly." Gregory set the briefcase at her feet and turned seriously to Trey. "Don't watch this. This is grown-up stuff."

Gregory cupped her chin, looked deeply into her eyes with that intensity that made him so fascinating. "I can't say I have feelings for you, but you can count on the fact that I never do anything I intend to regret." He kissed just to the left of her lips, sending a shiver up her neck.

"I'll see you later." He waited until she picked up Trey to leave them to their own devices.

Bette looked down at the little guy and sighed girlishly as he burbled up at her. "When you grow up, remember to be charming like that. It just makes us women's hearts melt. Not that it's going to be hard for you with Gregory's money and your daddy's-"

She stopped and examined Trey's cheeks for traces of the telltale dimples, but they were absent. She kissed his nose and gurgled back at him to get him to smile. Nothing. His face was smooth. "Now that's odd. The one thing you'd want to get from your daddy, aside from that gorgeous smile, would be those dimples for your pooky little cheeks..."

"Oh well. Maybe you'll get them when you get older. Come on, let's see what we can find for breakfast for the two of us."

Olivia paused on the front steps. She'd paused there so many times since the divorce. The new door was too heavy. Too imposing. This house wasn't home, even if she had lived there for a time. Home was down the road. The house was still empty. No one liked to buy a home that had been vacated under those circumstances. A baby dies and a life falls apart.

But her baby wasn't dead. He was on the other side of the door. He was there because Annie had taken him. Olivia bit her lip hard enough to shock herself back into reality. She couldn't say anything. Not until she had an idea of what she could do. Any idea. She couldn't take Trey from Caitlin. It would rip her daughter's heart out as surely as losing the baby had destroyed hers.

She reached for the door to open it but pulled her hand back and pressed the bell instead.

Bette's voice echoed out from inside. "It's open. I'll be down in a second, the man of the house decided I should wear his applesauce."

"I'll wait." Olivia called up as she looked around the living room. Everything was the same. Bette's touch wasn't on it. It was Gregory's house and much like the ebony lions guarding his bookcase, Bette was just the newest fixture in it. She thought about sitting down, but she couldn't put down her purse. She wasn't at home here. She couldn't be. Not now, not ever. Even if-

Bette had Trey in her arms as she hurried down the stairs. "I'm so sorry, I turn away from him for a moment and dumps something new and wet all over me. I've changed clothes three times already."

She had to hold him. Olivia nearly snatched him out of Bette's arms, but to her relief, her friend just laughed.

"Thanks. I'm running out of clothes. He can spill things on you for awhile."

Just breathing in the soft baby scent of his head made her heart slow to a nearly normal level. Olivia couldn't reply. Her breath hadn't come back yet. He was home. Her precious little son was home in her arms again, and she wasn't going to let go of him ever again.

'Hey, Livie- I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now-" Bette reached slowly for her shoulder, growing more confidant as Olivia didn't pull away. "Are you all right?"

Olivia nodded, and kept nodding as she sank into the sofa with Trey. "I'm all right Bette." She took a deep breath. Bette couldn't know. Not yet. No one could know. "You can stop being guilty. I'm not angry with you."

"I don't think I can stop being guilty." Bette answered quickly as she sank to the floor at Olivia's feet. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I went to his office to keep him from marrying Annie because my idiot brother put some kind of legal bear trap in his will and she just couldn't wait to step on it. And then I was flying to Las Vegas and getting married to the love of your life in a kilt-" Bette narrowed her eyebrows and corrected herself. "Well, he was the one in the kilt, I just had this suit Gregory picked out, but that's really not important."

She rested her chin on her hand and looked up as if she were afraid Olivia would hit her. "You're really not angry?"

"I was angry." Olivia admitted softly as she released her son enough to let her sit comfortably in her lap. "But then I realized you were right. I divorced Gregory. I don't-" Even baby Trey seemed to her the lie in her voice. "Want him anymore."

Trey started to fuss and even Olivia's hands didn't comfort him. She stood up and brought herself back to practical thoughts. "Have you put him down for a nap yet?"

"No." Bette pulled herself up and shook her head sheepishly. "We've spent so much time eating and doing laundry and trying to eat again that I completely forgot."

"I'll take him." Olivia offered and she couldn't help laughing as Bette sank into the sofa with a melodramatic sigh.

"Oh I was hoping you'd say that." She closed her eyes and settled into the leather. "I think a nap sounds like a great idea."


	7. darkness

"No no no. It's not going to work. You can't put the pool that close to the ocean, every time there's a storm it'll rise up and we'll have to drain it." Gregory pointed over the place near the beach AJ had just suggested. "Are you even thinking about this at all or are you just picking sites at random?"

AJ crossed his arms and his face hardened into marble. "You enjoy that don't you? Pointing out the holes in everyone else's thinking. You are the only one who can ever be right, aren't you?"

"When you're acting as distracted as you are, you don't have a leg to stand on." Gregory settled down on the edge of the bench near the future wall of the resort's main building. "I'm right because I'm paying attention. You're not even looking at the logic of what you're saying. If you don't want to be here just leave. I'm more than capable of planning this resort on my own."

"You haven't changed at all." AJ shot back as he took the other side of the bench. "You've always been more than capable, more than me, just that little bit better than everyone else." Leaning back against the bench, he took on a quieter tone. "What is it? Some kind of inferiority complex?"

Gregory's laughter cut through the air. "So you're a psychologist now Mr. Deschanel?" He shrugged and settled in. "This should be amazing. The wisdom of a man who's never spent more than a few months with the same woman." He reached down and picked up a handful of sand. Watching it drift back through the spaces in his fingers, Gregory smirked openly at AJ. "The logic of the man who let the one woman he's ever claimed to love slip through his fingers." Brushing his hands together removed the last traces of the sand. "Just like that."

AJ had to relax his fingers to keep them from turning into fists. "I didn't lose her. You turned her against me. You conspired with Bette and drove me out of town."

"It must have stung to have to leave the town your father built, or did you think it was a welcome relief from having to stick around to raise your bastard son?" Gregory wasn't sure which hatred burned at him more, Cole or AJ. "I thought you'd be grateful. Elaine might have asked you to marry her, and I can't imagine how horrible she'd feel if you'd left her at the altar."

Elaine didn't strike the same chord Olivia had and Gregory was disappointed when AJ's response was just a smile. "How is the altar? Was it as magical the second time around?"

Gregory could feel his teeth gnash together. "You've never gotten over the fact that Olivia got over you and had a life with me, can you?" Standing up to pace as he thought it all through, it suddenly started to make sense to Gregory. "She wasn't supposed to get over you. She was supposed to pine for you for the rest of her days, just like all of those other women you left behind like yesterday's garbage."

AJ flew off the bench, surprising himself by how quickly he was face to face with Gregory. "It must have stung when Elaine killed Del before you had the chance to get your furious hands on him. Tell me Gregory, does it feel as good as you thought it would to know you've bedded her best friend?" He leaned closer and dropped his voice to a polite mockery of a whisper. "Can you feel Olivia watching you when you undress her replacement?"

Gregory's eyes narrowed in a final warning. "You must be getting rusty. Olivia still hasn't succumbed to the infamous Deschanel charm. Perhaps the whole legend is a tad-" He looked pointedly at AJ's trousers. "Exaggerated."

"Olivia wouldn't even be around for you to continue to hurt if it wasn't for me." AJ's turn for smugness felt as triumphant for him as Gregory had a moment ago. "You let her go after your child died. That's how much you loved her. You let your grieving wife disappear because you couldn't deal with her pain." He knew he should hold back. Every part of good sense reminded him that there were things you didn't say. Even to your own worst enemy. Fury licked at his eyes, and suddenly, watching the quiet self-satisfaction on Gregory's face was too much.

"She was ready to kill herself when I found her. That's your legacy Gregory. Nothing but pain and death-" AJ stopped short as Gregory grabbed his lapels. Shock cutting off what reason refused to intrude upon.

"At least I lived with her." He hissed as he released AJ. Gregory pulled himself together, icing over the boiling lake of lava in his heart. "Olivia and I have pain, but we had more joy, more contentment and more joy than you've ever known-"

AJ opened his mouth to interject, but Gregory silenced him with a glare. "Why? Because for a time we were exactly what we wanted." All the anger melted out of his face. "It may not have been forever, but one moment. One instant of requited love is more powerful than all the stories in the world. One smile from someone who loves you is brighter than all the casinos of Monte Carlo." His dark eyes softened so much AJ began to wonder if he could look into the other man's heart.

"That's what you missed when you left Sunset Beach. Not the bondage of marriage, but the freedom of love. The power and perfection of knowing you can be yourself. Even if it's just in that room, in that moment, with her, you have eternity." Gregory's heart was naked there, crackling in the air between them before he put it away. "That's what you lost and that's what you;'ll never have-"

AJ took a moment to collect himself. He was ready to fight Gregory. To rip him apart as soon as Gregory threw the first punch, but this was entirely different. "Olivia isn't-" He looked to the ocean just long enough to cement his answer. "Olivia's not a frigid wasteland now that you're done with her. A woman doesn't become incapable of love just because she was once involved with someone like you."

Gregory raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I didn't know we were talking about Olivia."

Dumbstruck, it was all AJ could do to stare at him as if he'd suddenly admitted to being the firstborn son of Satan himself. "Who else would-"

"You're not angry with me because Olivia loved me, and you're not still angry with me because Olivia chose me all those years ago." Gregory rolled his shoulders and all the tension evaporated from them into the air. "You're angry with me because I've managed to do the one thing you couldn't. I let myself love and it ripped my heart out." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and tilted his head thoughtfully as he watched AJ's eyes flicker.

"You've been carrying a torch for Olivia all these years. Wandering through life with nothing more than a fading memory of infatuation to keep all your other chances away." Gregory's right hand pointed thoughtfully at AJ and then curled under his chin as he finished his epiphany. "You know, I always thought you were foolish to let her go without more of a fight. But now-" He looked up and down the neat silk suit AJ was wearing and smiled the quiet smile of someone who knows he has seen the final battle.

"Now I know you're just a coward."

AJ's fist lashed out and connected solidly with the flesh and bone of Gregory's cheek. Spitting blood into the sand, Gregory's eyes widened in amusement as he dropped his jacket to the bench and began rolling up his sleeves. "So do tell me AJ, how long have you been in love with Bette?"

Gregory blocked one, but another hit got through, impacting his chin this time. He shook it off and grinned in wild amusement. "What bothers you more? The fact that I know or the fact that I've had what you can only fantasize about?"

AJ feinted and the real lunge a split second later caught Gregory and sent them both crashing into the two by fours and plaster of the temporary wall. The rattling came a moment afterwards.

Gregory spent a moment thinking that the entire structure was coming down around them before he realized the shaking was coming from all around them. Even the sand beneath his feet.

AJ grabbed his shoulder and dragged him back from the collapsing wall they'd just crashed so recklessly into. Enmity was forgotten in the sudden, desperate struggle for that which both of them prized more than their hatred for each other. They're very survival was at stake as they stumbled together a step away from the groaning scaffolding of the resort. Another step as the rumbling became a roar of fury. A roar echoed only by the crashing, splintering horror that was the death rattle of the resort. Neither of them even had a chance to see if the other had survived before darkness took them both.

Olivia ran her hand through the air over her sleeping son and forced herself to lift her gaze from his angelic face. Let him sleep. He was safe. He was with his mother. She left the door to the nursery open as she tiptoed down the hallway. She could have stood there all day and watched him dream his little dreams. He was her son. Her flesh and blood.

But he'd still be there. No one. No one was ever going to take him again. Not Annie, not Caitlin-

Annie was Bette's niece. She'd almost been Gregory's husband instead of Bette. Olivia couldn't even fathom how terrible that would have been. Bette she could forgive. Bette she could understand, but Annie. Anne was a witch. A criminal and the lowest form of life. She shouldn't tell Bette, not until she had more than her own fragile memory and Annie's word to go on, but she had too. She had to let the secret out of her chest before it ripped its way free of it's own accord.

Bette had a magazine open on the floor of the living room and she was sprawled on the sofa just above it. She looked up in surprise at the sound of footprints on the stairs. "Livie, you startled me, I thought you'd just stay up there with the little guy."

"He doesn't need me when he's sleeping." Olivia replied with a tiny smile. "And he is finally, asleep." She sank into the chair across from Bette and stared up at the delicately scrolled ceiling. "I still miss the old house. I don't even live here and it feels-"

"Wrong?" Bette offered with a heavy sigh of guilt.

"Odd." Olivia corrected as she offered Bette an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I've been so distant lately."

"I married your husband!" Bette sat up and her foot dropped to the magazine with the crunch of glossy paper beneath it. "I'm a horrible, thoughtless, self-serving btch- I'd hate me. If I was you."

"Maybe we should be happy you're not." Olivia retorted with a touch of relief. "I can't lose you too." She looked up at the ceiling and then across to her best friend. "You're the best friend I have. My oldest-"

"Ah-ah-ah. Don't go there. You had me at best." Bette winked at her and then left the sofa to fold Olivia into her arms. Together they overflowed Olivia's chair, but neither of them wanted to let go.

Bette sniffed, fighting back her tears. "I just don't know what I do if you hated me. Who would I talk to? Who could I call in the middle of the night? Who would go shopping with me?"

"Now that's a good question." Olivia pointed out with a sob that could have passed for a giggle of relief. "I know you don't love Gregory-" Her voice caught a little on his name. "I know that."

"Good!" Bette squeezed her again and rocked back on her heels to sit on the floor. "Oh Livie, I missed you."

Olivia patted Bette's shoulders and sighed happily. "I missed you too. You wouldn't believe how quiet the beach house is without you."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment." Bette reached up and squeezed into Olivia's folded hands. "But I'll take it as one."

"I think that's a good idea." Olivia smiled again, trying not to get used to feeling comfortable once again in her friend's presence.

The silence that fell over them was pleasant. Olivia let Bette fidget with her fingers as she tried to find the words to explain her secret. She opened her mouth to start at least three times before she finally decided to come out with it. "Bette-"

"What?"

"There's something I have to-"

The chandelier was swaying.

Olivia stopped dead. Why was it swaying?

"The chandelier-" Olivia began to speak in silence, but as she tried to explain the air was suddenly alive with thunder. The sun was still setting over the ocean though the patio doors. It couldn't be a storm.

Bette heard it. She saw the chandelier begin to swing dangerously from its' mount as the groaning of strained wood added to the rumbling all around them. "What the hell?" She was the only person who heard herself speaking. The sound was all around them and it was so loud that it was inside of her. The heavy glass patio door exploded inward in a shower of glass and Bette reached for Olivia's hand. The doorway to the study was only a few feet away. They could make it.

Olivia strained towards the staircase, pulling out of Bette's grip as she went for her son. Bette felt her hand slip away just as the first beam fell though the ceiling. Plaster, wood and wiring exploded from the ceiling just over her head. Olivia's scream cut through the roaring around them. And then-

Darkness.


	8. please

Coughing forced him back to consciousness. Something was wrong with the air. It was thick with grit and heavy like a years worth of humidity. His chest heaved, protesting against the weight and the horrible quality of the air. Gregory forced his breathing to become regular. He had to be calm He had to think rationally.

There had been an earthquake. He'd passed out under the rumble. Was he injured? Gregory did a mental inventory of his body, starting with his feet. They were bent awkwardly beneath him, but they worked. His arms were around his head. The back of his left hand ached, and he was fairly certain the crustiness on the back of his hand was blood, but he was alive. That he could work with. He blinked, trying to discern if everywhere around him was equally dark.

It was lighter to his left. The black was slightly more gray. Gregory moved his head slowly towards the light and got ready to defend himself if the motion disturbed any of the rubble above him. The air exploded into a fresh haze of dirt, and in a blast of adrenaline he was free. The rubble lay around him as if a bomb had gone off but he was free. He lay there, panting and trying to catch his breath.

The sky was a glorious blue, even the clouds coming in off the ocean were beautiful. The air was so sweet it stung his eyes. Gregory rolled to his side and let himself finish coughing. Another second and everything came pounding back into his mind. Olivia and Trey were at the house. They'd need him he had too- He headed for the car in a run and stopped.

He turned back to the rubble. Where was AJ? He contemplated the possibility that AJ might be dead and sighed. If he was alive, AJ was alive.

Damn.

"Hey!" He yelled as loudly as he could. "Deschanel! Can you hear me? Move something, bang something."

Over to the right a board moved. Gregory lowered his hands to the debris and started pulling. The stack of rubble next to him to grew slowly. It was heavy, hard work. Sweat was running down the dirt on his face when he found a grimy hand reaching for him.

AJ looked just as much like hell as he imagined he did. After they extracted him from the mess they both had to catch their breath. "Olivia- Bette-" AJ panted out finally as he wiped dust from around his eyes.

Gregory nodded quickly. "The car seems to be all right. Let's go."

A thousand little lights twinkled above her, teasing her through the smoke. Was it smoke? She couldn't breathe. Why couldn't she breathe? What was wrong? Coughing hurt, and her chest hurt. How long had she'd been coughing? Hours? Days? Olivia moved her head and realized she was lying on the floor. It was dirty and hard. She moved her arm, pushing something off of her head. There was light above her, somewhere, far above her. What was it? Daylight? How could it be daylight?

It wasn't bright enough to be daylight and it was twinkling. Daylight didn't twinkle. Chandelier. It was the chandelier, the big heavy one in Gregory's living room. Why was she in Gregory's living room?

Trey. Olivia suddenly tried to sit up. She couldn't, her legs wouldn't move. Something from the ceiling was over them and it was too heavy for he to move. She struggling up on her elbow and tried to push it off. It was too heavy. Trying to pull herself out from underneath it was useless as well. She craned her neck, looking around, listening for Trey. She couldn't hear him crying.

As she moved her head, she looked for something, anything. In the edge of her vision, someone else was here. Who was there? Gregory? Olivia chided herself for wanting Gregory to save her. He wasn't her knight in armor anymore.

Bette. The other person was Bette. She had been with her before the house fell down around them. Before the earthquake. For twenty years she'd lived in California, and the earth had never turned against her like that before. The last time the power had been out, and Gregory had walked her up to bed with a candle before heading back downstairs to finish his work before the candle burned down.

She had to focus. She had to get to Trey.

"Bette!" Her voice was hoarse in the thick air. She starting coughing again and fought the spasming of her chest to shout again. "Bette- you have to get up."

A groan, and then a curse. Bette sat up, complaining as she shook dust out of her hair. "Spend a hundred dollars getting it done and a dammed earthquake comes along and fills it full of dirt. I should move back to Texas. Nothing ever fell on me in Texas."

"Bette, oh Bette you have to get Trey." Bette knelt down next to her and took her hand but it did nothing to quell Olivia's fears.

"Let me get you out first then we'll get him together. Okay?"

Olivia started to protest, but Bette hushed her as she grabbed her shoulders to pull her out. "You can't see the mess on the stairs, but believe me, I can't get up there by myself."

"But you have too-" Olivia stopped fighting Bette as the chandelier dropped a few inches and hung there. The glass droplets tinkled in the silence as the wood began to groan ominously.

"I have to get you out of this mess before that relic from the Titanic drops on your head, that's what I have to do." Bette looked around, getting up for a tool. "Okay." She knelt back down next to her and shoved the piece of wood under the mess on Olivia's legs. "I'm going to try and lift this up. You have to let me pull you out. All right?"

Olivia nodded quickly, unable to take her eyes off of the slowly spinning chandelier. How much did it weigh? Two- three hundred pounds? Would it kill her immediately or leave her trapped to die slowly?

She forced herself to look up at Bette. She had to trust her. "All right."

Bette levered up the pile of rubble pinning her legs and suddenly blood rushed through flattened veins in an explosion of a thousand pins and needles. Olivia gasped and tried to slide them out. Her legs moved like they were made of dough but Bette grabbed her arm. The chandelier dropped another inch then another.

Something snapped.

The chandelier crashed down and exploded into shards of glass. Bette's eyes were huge and round in her face. "I think I'm going to have to start dying the grey out of my hair after that one."

Olivia bent her head to Bette's shoulder, deeply grateful to be alive. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if she was alone. Her legs aching was the most wonderful thing she'd ever felt. Tears were in her eyes as Bette dragged her to her feet.

"Come on. Have to get the blood flowing again." Black tracks of mascara and tears cut down the dirt on Bette's face. "We've got to get up to that little boy and make sure he's okay."

Olivia wrapped her arms around her best friend, saying everything in a hug she didn't know how to say on her own.

Bette pulled herself together first and headed for the stairs. They were worse than the floor of the dining room. She shook her head slowly and reached for the first broken piece of corning. "Gregory couldn't just buy a nice single floor ranch..."

Olivia wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her shirt and realized she was just spreading the dirt around. "Gregory only gets the best." She helped Bette with a large piece of what had been the ceiling and sighed heavily. "You'll have to remind him to rebuild more earthquake proof."

"Me?" Bette took a second to remember that they're position were reversed. She looked away quickly, still slightly uncomfortable with being the second Mrs. Gregory Richards. "I guess so. I still like the idea of moving back to Texas. Ground stayed put there."

AJ and Gregory pulled into the driveway of the remains of the mansion at 5 Ocean Avenue. A bomb could have gone off in the house with less damage. A whole section of the third floor was lying in the garden, but most of the rest seemed to be intact. Gregory was out of the car almost before AJ had come to a stop.

"Olivia? Olivia! Bette? Where are you? Are you all right?'

AJ left the keys in the ignition and followed him. Lending his voice to Gregory's.

The chandelier looked like a relic of ages past, sitting dilapidated in the middle of the living room. Gregory's eyes flew across the rubble. The path up the stairs was clear. "Olivia! Answer me!"

Only more silence. "Damn.' Slipped from his lips as he ran up the stairs two at a time. They'd be in the nursery. If they were gone already, they'd be in the nursery-

He reached the door and nearly crashed into Olivia. "It's Trey-" She gasped out, terror cutting her breath short. "He's having trouble breathing Bette-"

He grabbed her shoulders, waiting for her to calm. "Bette's trying to help him- Gregory-" Her hands were shaking as she grabbed his hand. "Gregory, we have to get him to a hospital."

AJ was just a step behind him. "Take the car." He offered immediately. "Take the car and take them both. Make sure my grandson's all right."

Bette lifting Trey from the floor and handed him carefully to Gregory. "He's all right now, but I think he got more than a mouthful of plaster. Poor little guy keeps coughing it up."

He held Trey to his chest and wrapped his free arm around Olivia's shoulders. Her hair was soft through the dirt as she brushed against his cheek. "He's going to be okay." Gregory promised simply as he led her down the stairs. "He's going to be okay."

He gave her Trey as he rescued the car seat from the wreck of the hall closet. Olivia was whispering to Trey as he buckled it into the back of the Mercedes with practiced fingers. Olivia put Trey in it and let him finish the buckles.

"It used to take you an hour just to get all the straps right."

In spite of the chaos of the earthquake, Gregory smiled sheepishly. "I guess I've had a little practice since then." He got into the driver's seat and made sure she was secure before he started the car. The roads were a mess, trees and power-lines were a constant hazard. Olivia didn't speak to him. She kept turning around to check on Trey.

She was constantly touching him, stoking his face, brushing back his hair from his forehead. "You're such a good boy." She whispered encouragingly as Trey yawned at her sleepily. "Such a brave boy."

Gregory caught one of Trey's yawns in the rearview mirror and for a moment he was back twenty years, driving up the coast to see his parents with Olivia and baby Caitlin. "He must be okay. The car's putting him right to sleep."

Olivia's hand caught his shoulder as she turned back towards him. "Oh thank God. Bette and I were so worried. When we got up there to him he wasn't breathing, his crib had fallen over." She shuddered, her terror wasn't over yet.

He took his hand off the wheel to pat her fingers. "You and Bette were there. He was safe, and he's going to be."

She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder for just long enough to feel safe again. "He's going to be okay." Olivia repeated as she closed her eyes for a moment. She could still hear the horrible sound the chandelier had made as it sank into the floor. That and the terrible roaring of the earthquake.

Her ears were suddenly filled with it again.

Gregory put a name to her horror. "Aftershock- get back."

Panic filled her throat in a tight knot. Gregory's arm forced her back into her seat in slow motion. Her eyes snapped open as the brick facade of one of the gift shops collapsed down in front of them. The brakes squealed and ground into the loose gravel and debris covering the road.

the car came to a gut-wrenching stop as a chunk of brick and concrete nearly bigger than the car crushed the hood. The airbag exploded into her face and white heat cut into her abdomen. The pain exploded until all of her vision went white.

The airbag had left sore patches of skin on his face. Gregory lifted his head from the steering wheel and rubbed blood from his lip off onto the sleeve of his jacket. His head throbbed for a moment, but he shoved it away. He opened his eyes slowly and let them adjust to the darkness. He was in a car, slumped over the wheel. It wasn't his car. He knew that immediately. Gregory looked down at his hands.

It was AJ's car. AJ gave him the car because-

Trey whimpered in the back seat. Trey was there because he needed to go to the hospital. Olivia said he was having trouble breathing. He undid his seat-belt and reached back for Trey. The little boy calmed when he realized he wasn't alone. He reached to undo Trey's car seat, but Gregory stopped.

Olivia was turned away from him, her neck bent at an awkward angle. Her side of the car was considerably more damaged. Her airbag was still slowly letting out its air. He reached gently for her head, careful to lean her back slowly, always checking for an injury. Her neck seemed to be all right. No swelling or bruises. Her head was all right. He couldn't feel anything on her forehead.

Gregory rested her head on his shoulder and he reached down for her belt. Her body was bent up and forced into the belt at an odd angle. Something was wrong with the seat of the car. Her knees were up too far. She was breathing slowly and steadily but it was shallow. Her lips were cold.

Gregory reached down across her stomach. The flesh beneath the belt was purple and oozed blood where her camisole had slipped up. He pulled it down, but it worried him.

He patted her cheek as he pulled her towards him. "Olivia? Hey- come on sweetheart. Come back to me."

Olivia's breath caught slightly and she moaned as he pulled her towards him. "It's all right. You're safe. It was just an aftershock. You're okay." He tapped her cheek, trying to bring her around. "Come on Liv, you can do it."

Her head was heavy on his shoulder. He dropped his fingers to her neck and counted her pulse against his own. Hers was rapid, far faster than his. He knew enough to know that was a bad sign. "Olivia-"

"Dammit Olivia." Gregory didn't even know where the tears had come from and suddenly they were assaulting his eyes. He could lose her. She could never wake up. She might never look at him again.

He held her closer, rocking her against his chest. "Please- Liv, you can't-" His throat was getting tight. "Liv- Olivia- please."

"Please." Gregory kissed the top of her head and let the tears run down his face. "Please..." Not her. Not now, not ever. He couldn't deal with it. He didn't know how to live in a world without her. He couldn't.

Eternity rushed by him in the car. Minutes stretched into years without her. Years where he waited desperately, barely daring even to breath, for her to return to him. The air closed in around him, thick and acrid with the smell of gasoline.

Somewhere around him in the chaos that had been the street towards the clinic, a brick broke off and settled into the debris with a thud. Trey yawned in the silence. Murmuring to himself in that innocent baby way. The car settled. his seat creaked as he readjusted her weight.

None of it mattered while she was silent. Nothing. No sound but her breathing.

"Please." His prayer cut into the silence. "Please."


	9. lies

She moaned and turned into his chest. "My baby-" She snuggled tighter into his arms. "My baby-" Gregory could barely hear her. He had to convince himself that she had moved and force away his fear that it was a hallucination. She was alive. Olivia's hand slipped from his grasp and went to her stomach. Did it hurt her? Were there internal injuries? Her eyelashes fluttered as he lifted her head carefully with his hand. None of her muscles resisted his control. Her tongue moved weakly over dry lips.

"My baby-"

"Olivia-" Gregory began gently, hoping against hope he wouldn't have to go the hell through explaining why her baby wasn't there. "Do you know where you are?"

"What?" She groaned, and her head would have tumbled back to the seat if he wasn't holding her so tightly. Olivia couldn't keep her head up on her own. He tried to sit her up, but she remained in his arms. She was too weak, too disoriented.

"Listen to me." The command cut through some of her confusion. Her eyes seemed to catch him for a moment. "Olivia- do you know where you are?"

Swallowing slowly, she started to shake her head. "Trey. Where's Trey? Is he all right?"

"He's fine." He stroked her head, smoothing her dusty hair back. "He's fine."

Olivia struggled to speak again, and his throat tightened when he realized how much effort it took her. "Trey-"

"He's all right Liv." The force in his voice startled him. Olivia jumped slightly, both of her hands dropped to hold her stomach.

She winced and started to pull away only to realize she couldn't hold herself up. "Gre-" Her plea was interrupted by the immediate, desperate need to draw breath. Breath that did nothing to ease the pain. He wanted to cradle her until the pain ceased. Until nothing could hurt her again. Instead, he lent her his strength, sharing the warm of his body with her cold flesh.

The air was acrid with gasoline and spilt chemicals from the car. She hadn't noticed. Gregory felt her pulse race weakly beneath his fingers and studied the power lines down across the hood of the car. It wasn't safe.

"I'm going to get Trey out of the car." He promised as her head rested against his neck. That calmed her. Olivia lifted her head just enough of her own accord to look at him. One hand caressed his face, smiling strangely as her fingers came away damp with his tears.

"You-" She swallowed again and brought her hand to her lips. "You were crying."

He leaned her back into her seat, carefully making sure she'd remain stable while he moved. "Don't go anywhere." He insisted with as much humor as he could muster. "Stay right there."

Olivia reached for him as he turned to fight the door open. He turned back to her hand, trying not to think about how weak her grip was against his wrist. "You have to-" She squinted, trying to find him in the haze of her vision. "Save Trey. Get him- out of here."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Gregory asked with a confidant grin. "I'm getting Trey out of the car, then I'll get you out of the car. We'll take him to the hospital together." He kissed her hand and tucked it back carefully into her lap. Even his caution produced another wince. Trey was the least of his worries as he glanced back. The little boy was asleep.

The door creaked and whined with a protest of twisting metal as it opened. He kicked the bottom and it hung open enough for him to escape. The hood of the car was nearly gone beneath a mass of brick and concrete. What was left was soaking in a pool of vile smelling dark fluid. Oil and gasoline. He knelt and touched it. It was wet and the pool was still growing. The tank had been near full when he left the resort with AJ. Gregory smiled bitterly at the irony of it. He had been pleased to have that reserve then. Now it was more dangerous than even the last aftershock.

Leaving the car and the road to find a stick, Gregory poked the lines across the car. A shower of sparks erupted and Olivia jumped nervously.

"It's all right." He called calmly. "Don't worry." He dropped the stick and hurried to her door. Even with her injuries, Olivia knew the look in his eyes. The terror he was trying so hard to bury.

"Get Trey first." She ordered as she closed her eyes. Olivia couldn't look at the concern on his face. He wasn't allowed to worry about her anymore. "Get him out."

The rear door opened easier. Less damage had be done to the back of the car. He reached for Trey before deciding that it would be better just to get the seat out if he could. Gregory's fingers fumbled with the belt holding it down before it finally clicked free. Trey slept on as he carried the seat a safe distance from the car. He passed ten feet and looked back at the car. Olivia hadn't moved. He probably shouldn't risk moving her. He couldn't know the extent of her injuries. She hadn't mentioned the pain.

But then she wouldn't. Olivia would die quietly alone before asking for his help. She would give her life to save Trey.

Finding an embankment to put Trey behind, Gregory straightened his blanket and made sure he was warm enough. "I'll be right back. I have to get your-" He paused, it felt odd to refer to Olivia as anyone's grandmother. "My wife." That came easier. Trey wouldn't know the difference. "Out of the car."

"Mr. Richards?"

Gregory whirled around, startled to hear anyone speaking to him. Michael Bourne, that lifeguard boyfriend of Vanessa Hart, hurried towards him. He had on the blue jacket with the red cross of the EMTs.

"Hey- Is the baby okay?"

Something sparked behind them. Gregory felt fear close in iron bands around his heart. He spoke quickly as he turned around. "Trey's fine but the car is going to explode. Take him. Get him out of here."

Michael caught his arm as Gregory started to hurry back to the car. "That car is going to explode?"

"Yes." He didn't have time for this. "I have-"

"You have to get out of here." Michael insisted with the stupid nobility of good-natured people.

"I have to get my wife out of the car." Gregory corrected firmly as he turned back to cement his point. "You take my grandson to the clinic. Make sure he gets looked after until my daughter gets back. I have to get Olivia out."

Michael lifted the car seat. He had seen that manic look before and he knew better than to mess with it. It would be hours before any more rescue workers got here. Gregory's life was his to risk. "There's a triage center at the clinic. Eight blocks, that way." He pointed down the ruined street. "He'll be waiting for you there. Both of you."

He wasn't even sure if Gregory heard him as the other man returned to the car. Michael adjusted his grip on the car seat and started back to the clinic. One life at a time was the rule in a disaster. One life at a time.

Olivia didn't even look at him until he reached through the window of the car. Gregory pulled his hand inside his sleeve as he cleared the broken glass from the window. "Michael's taking Trey to the clinic. You remember Michael don't you? You met him at the lifeguard fundraiser last year."

"Promise me." Olivia whispered as she tried to turn her head towards him.

"Promise what sweetheart?" The door handle on the outside had been stripped from the car. He reached down past her shoulder for the interior door. "I need you to get away from the door so I can open it. Can you do that?"

She didn't say anything. He touched her cheek and drew her attention back to him. "I'm going to open the door."

Blinking slowly at him as if she had to remember who he was, Olivia finally nodded.

"Good." He found the handle and pulled upwards. The door released with a click and the weight of it slammed into him. He dropped the door, slipping his hand around her back as she tumbled out into his arms.

She choked on her own scream of pain. Olivia's sobbing turned into a coughing fit as he pulled her back from the car. It hurt just to listen to her but he had to get her away. Pain was fleeting. If he could get her far enough away, she'd recover. She had to recover. He got one step, then another as he swung her up into his arms. Gregory had to wrap one arm tightly around her shoulders because she couldn't hold on. She couldn't move her hands away from her stomach.

"Gregory stop!" Agony crackled through her voice, as dangerous as the electricity trapped in the rubber coated lines. "Stop-"

He pushed her voice out of his mind. He had to concentrate on his feet and the complicated task of keeping his footing over the uneven ground.

"Stop- stop-"

He wasn't listening. The flash of light behind him was fire. The whoosh was gasoline igniting. Heat flared across his back. He dropped them both to the grassy back of the ditch. Olivia's face was pressed into his neck, his hand covered her head. She was safe. She was still sobbing but there was no way to

help her. The clinic was still eight torturous blocks away. When the heat faded from his back, Gregory pulled his weight from her body. Her eyes were closed. There was blood on her lips, bright red against the ghostly pink of her skin. He reached down and wiped it away.

"I'm sorry." Gregory found the cleanest part of his sleeve to wipe her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Olivia brought her hand up, and he caught it to stop it from shaking. "It's okay." Sniffing back her tears, she forced her eyes to focus on him. "Wouldn't have wanted to be in the car anyway."

He looked back at the smoldering wreck that had been AJ's car. "It's AJ's." Gregory couldn't help laughing as he rolled back on the grass by her side. The ground was damp from the rain that morning. "What did you want me to promise you?"

Olivia could barely feel her body at all, but the hand he held was warm. "I want you to be good to Trey. To love him like he's your son." She still couldn't tell him. Death was reaching up from inside the pain in her stomach and she still couldn't tell him.

"Of course I love Trey." Gregory sat up and looked down the street. Eight blocks could have been eight miles. How long had it been since he'd carried her that far? He didn't doubt that he could. Would she make it? He caressed his neck, feeling for a pulse. Still too fast. How much time did she have?

Olivia faded back into consciousness. What had he said? Why did he sound so far away? Then it coalesced. He said he loved her. Hadn't he? "You love me? You're impossible, darling but I love you."

Gregory squeezed her hand as hard as he dared. "I am, aren't I?" He kissed her hand as he got to his feet. "I'm going to pick you up."

"Don't." She lifted her head slightly. "I'm okay-"

He slipped his hands underneath her back. "You're a bad liar Liv. You always have been."

"It hurts-" Olivia closed her eyes, wishing she could shut off her mind as easily. "It really, really hurts."

"I know. I'm going to pick you up on three. One-"

She bit her lip and his stomach became a cold knot of pity. Olivia moved her head just enough to pass for a nod.

Gregory lifted on two. Without the adrenaline of before her body was heavy, like lead in his hands. Muscles he hadn't used in years expressed their displeasure at being abused so.

"Liar." Olivia whispered into his neck as he shifted her into the best position.

"It's not a lie. It was a surprise." He teased without a trace of light left in his voice. "I thought you liked surprises."

Olivia's hand dug into his neck for a second before she regained control. "Pain is a lousy surprise."

Gregory crossed the intersection of Front Street and Third Avenue. The clinic was on Tenth. He was getting closer. Sweat broke out slowly across the back of his neck. "Next time I'll have to do better." A block passed in silence. Olivia hadn't passed out had she? As much of a relief as it would have been to know she wasn't in pain anymore, he had the nagging suspicion that he should keep her awake. The last time she'd been dying in his arms, the 911 dispatcher told him to keep her conscious. Keep her talking.

"What do you do when you have to talk to your ex-wife?" He asked softly.

Amused enough to risk the motion, Olivia's fingers sunk into his hair. "I'm sure you can think of something. If anyone can. You can."


	10. Gregory

"You always have faith in me, don't you?" Gregory wondered more to himself than to her. He was surprised when she answered. Her voice was so soft that he had to stop walking to hear her.

Olivia sighed as he begged her to repeat herself. "I said you're easy to have faith in. You're Gregory."

"What does that mean?" He begged her, torn between being confused and flattered. "Is it even a good thing? 'He's Gregory' could mean anything. You could be comparing me to Satan for all I know."

She laughed for half a second before the pain stopped her. "That could be good-" Her fingers tightened for a second before her arm fell from his shoulder.

"Pick your arm up." He ordered firmly as he prodded her shoulder.

She struggled with it for a moment before obeying. Gregory stopped walking long enough to make sure it was secure in her lap. "That's my girl. Even if you are being cryptic."

Olivia lifted her head enough to touch his chin with the crown of her head. She could smell his cologne. Her feet were going numb and her fingers moved slowly when she could move them at all, as if they belonged to someone else. But none of it mattered. The arms around her were Gregory's. "Cryptic seems like an odd choice." It was easier to talk now. The pain in her stomach was starting to fade into the grey haze she'd lost her legs too.

He pretended to wince. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't mean it that way." A crypt was the last place she was going. "You're going to be fine. I've got you."

"And you're Gregory Richards." She repeated as she let her head fall back to his shoulder. When had it gotten so heavy? "If you say something is so. It usually is."

"Even if that makes me satanic." Gregory shifted his arms and felt the line of sweat run down his spine. It didn't matter how much his arms ached to be free of their burden. His heart wouldn't let him put her down.

She sighed before she was able to speak. It was getting so hard to keep listening to him. He was the one person she used to be able to listen to all night long, when they were first married and they'd lie in bed next to each other talking about nothing until the sun came up. But she was tired. Every part of her was tired. "I didn't say that. You said satanic, not me."

Gregory watched the corner of Seventh Street come into view and pass behind him. "I did. I guess I'm just surprised."

Olivia's mouth tasted like blood. She moved her tongue carefully around looking for the cut. Nothing was wrong with her mouth, but the taste was still there. "Surprised?" She swallowed again, but metallic feeling in the back of her throat didn't go away.

"Frankly I'm surprised that you still trust me." He admitted with the ease that only came in the quietest of moments. When the end was near, everything had the clarity of hindsight.

She wanted to grab his arm, but it was all she could do to grab the edge of his shirt. He was sweating. She couldn't be easy to carry. How far were they going? Olivia didn't remember how to ask. When she blinked she could barely tell the difference between having her eyelids open or closed. Was it dark out?

"Why are the street lamps out?"

"The earthquake sweetheart." Gregory stopped just past Eight Street. "I need you to stand up for me."

Olivia felt him wrap her arms around his neck. "Stand up?"

"I have to switch arms." He lowered her feet tentatively to the pavement. "I'll hold you up." As soon as any of the weight was on her legs, they buckled. Gregory pushed her back against the door of one of the gift shops that lined Front Street. "Just a second."

She wanted to pull her hands down, wrap them around the pain in her stomach as if somehow that would make it disappear. Gregory only need to hear her gasp once before he lifted her back up. This time her head was on his left shoulder.

It took longer than he had hoped for her breath to slow to a normal rate. "Not much longer." This time he had to kiss her forehead to bring her back around. "You have to stay with me."

"I'm sorry-" Olivia's voice trailed off.

"Don't be sorry, be awake." That made her smile. He could see her cheeks move just slightly.

"Okay." Her hands were still around his neck. Somehow her fingers were still holding on. "But I'm tired."

The childish lilt in her voice reminded him of the young Olivia. The shy young woman who used to giggle when he reached down to warm up her cold feet when he crawled into bed next to her. "Sometimes good things happen when you're tired." As he expected, she picked up the reference.

"You told me that on New Year's Eve." Olivia's memory of twenty years ago was frighteningly clear. "When you were trying to keep me awake until midnight."

"And you kept trying to tell me there'd be a hundred more New Year's Eve's and I should just let you sleep through this one." The hub of lights ahead had to be the clinic. It had to be. "You were so jet-lagged you couldn't even tell me what time you thought it was. I tried to fly you to Paris, so our first New Year would be in the city of light." He stopped in the story, chuckling a bit as he lost himself in the past.

"But it was foggy in Amsterdam."

Olivia caught his embellishment and kept him from getting away with changing the story. "It was snowing in Frankfurt."

"And because of the snow we had a ten hour layover. We didn't even get into Paris until nine. You were so tired you didn't even want to go out to eat so we got room service."

"The kitchen was closed." She corrected with that same little smirk.

"I bought you bread and coffee from a street vendor." That was something she remembered. Closing her eyes against the sudden influx of light, Olivia snuggled in closer to his chest.

"I promised you if you made it to midnight I'd buy you a diamond-" He had to nudge her to get her to respond this time. "A diamond Liv-"

"It was-" The lights were suddenly so bright they threatened to burn through her eyelids. "Don't-" He was setting her down. Olivia couldn't fight him, but she didn't want him to go. He needed to stay with her. The smell of him returned as he kissed her cheek. She blinked at him, unable to see him through the lights over his head.

"It was you." She whispered into his ear as the medics started to lift up her shirt. "You didn't have to buy me anything. All I wanted was you."

Olivia looked worse in the bright lights of the hospital. Even as Tyus hurried over to them, Gregory didn't have a lot of hope. Her lips weren't even pink anymore. Dried blood was crusted up inside of the, stark and red against her skin. She shied away from the light Tyus shone in her eyes as he checked her pupils.

"Gregory?" She hit Tyus' hand weakly away from her face. "Gregory." Olivia repeated with the last of her strength.

"It's okay." Tyus told the nurse as Gregory took her hand and held it tightly to his chest. "He's her husband."

Gregory didn't correct him. As Olivia's husband he could stay with her. He could make the right choices for her. He could be there. He needed to be there. "I'm here."

Fresh tears appeared on her lashes as Tyus' hands fluttered across the bruised skin. He looked to his assistant. The young man didn't look any older than Sean. "Put her on the ultrasound schedule. Move her above the broken leg." Tyus paused for a second and then added. "And the other internal case. Put a rush on her blood typing."

Gregory shook himself out of fear. "She's O positive. We both are."

"You're absolutely sure?" Tyus took a chart and dropped it on the bed next to Olivia's feet. "I don't have to tell you how important it is-"

"O positive." He would never forget that day in the emergency room or the six pints of blood it had taken to replace what she'd lost with the baby.

"Our supplies are stretched to the limit. You might need to donate for her." Tyus handed the chart to the intern. "Get at least three pints of O positive. I'm going to need clotting agents, two pints of saline, and a transfusion kit." The young doctor touched Gregory's shoulder.

"Stay with her. if she changes, yell for someone. Eric's going to get some blood, and I'll put Olivia's name on the helicopter list. We'll get her out of here and to somewhere they can treat her injuries. South Bay's taking our surgical cases."

Gregory suspected the earthquake had ravaged the coast but he had no idea how far down the damage had gone. "She can wait that long?" He rested his hand on her shoulder. The other held her right hand to his heart.

Tyus looked across the crowded tent to a new arrival and immediately started to walk away. "She's not in any immediate danger. She has a few hours."

Hours. He'd thrown away years with her. Good years that could have been happy. Now it was down to hours. A handful of hours to make up for all the wrongs of their life together.

Her lips moved before she found her voice. He had to lean all the way down to her to hear what she was saying.

"What did the doctor say?"

"You need blood." Gregory offered the simplest explanation he had as a woman in a Red Cross sweatshirt brought him a folding chair. "Your stomach hurts because you're bleeding internally. They're going to give you some blood and fly you down to South Bay. Then you'll be fine."

Olivia's fingers went limp in his hand. "I haven't been in a helicopter for years."

"We'll fly over the beach. Watch the waves in the moonlight." The tears were back to sting his eyes. He buried his face in her hair. "It'll be all right." She murmured something intelligible. Now that she was safe her strength was gone. Olivia had made it this far. in her mind, that was enough. It was up to him now. He had to-

The intern's voice startled him. "Mr. Richards?" He had a pile of sterile rubber, capped needles and a length of tubing. "Dr. Robinson said you were the right blood type? The blood bank's tapped."

Gregory sat up and started to roll up his sleeve. "Take it. Take whatever she needs."

The young man nodded and started to check Gregory's arms for a suitable vein. "We're going to take two pints from you. You might be a little groggy." The same quiet woman in the sweatshirt brought him three bottles of water.

"But my wife-"

Eric's bedside manner was as fresh as his face, but he was trying. "Should be all right. She's stable for now. Her blood pressure's low, but it's not dropping any further." He cracked open the bottle of iodine and spread it out in slow circles on the crook of Gregory's arm. "Dr. Robinson asked me to tell you your grandson is all right. He's down in the nursery at South Bay. He'll be waiting for you."

"Trey's all right." The needle lanced into his arm as he watched one of his tears clear a track down the dust on her face. "Did you hear that Liv? Trey's just fine."

"Move your fingers." Eric suggested politely as he handed Gregory another water bottle. 'Drink this. Dr. Robinson-"

Gregory finished his thought. "Will be right back." He slid his folding chair a little closer across the concrete floor. "She'll be here." Eric covered the needle in his arm with a washcloth so he didn't have to watch it. The long snaking tube wrapped up an IV post and down into Olivia's arm. Their life force was one. The very blood of their veins was connected, intermingled as it ran through to her heart. "We'll both be here."

He didn't hear the intern leave. He could barely hear anything over the chaos of the triage center. "I wish you were right." Gregory whispered to the lids that had finally closed down over her exhausted eyes. "I wish I could keep you here just through force of will alone because I'm Gregory Richards. And I-" He paused for a second, still bitterly amused by the irony of it. "I get what I want."

"I didn't tell you that you missed something important when you came up with that theory." Gregory dropped his head to the bed just next to her shoulder, careful not to bend his elbow and dislodge the needle tapping his vein. "I'm not myself- I'm not 'Gregory Richards' without you."


	11. rise

He was crumpled inward. Shirt dirtied so the once neat pinstripe was buried beneath a layer of dirt. It was impossible to even distinguish what color it had been. The sleeve was rolled up entirely on his left side, revealing the dried swatch of iodine on his elbow. She wouldn't have recognized him. Bette started to step across his shoes as she searched the clinic for Gregory and Olivia.

It was the shoes that stopped her. She knew them. They were in the closet, on the bottom row, beneath the rows and rows he left open for her. The same racks that used to hold Olivia's shoes. The expensive brown leather was scuffed, ruining the satin finish he was so proud of but she knew them. She remembered watching him pull on the neat black socks before leaving the bedroom and going to work.

Bette didn't have anything to say. She let herself sink down the wall next to him. Was it Trey? Had something gone wrong? Gregory didn't sit like that. He didn't hold his head in his hands.

He did once.

"Oh god." Her involuntary whisper drew his head up. "What happened to Livie?"

He didn't speak and her arm went around his shoulders. She hadn't held him before but he didn't pull away. He just sat there.

There were still streaks on his face. Pale lines that betrayed everything he'd gone through. Bette was soft against him. There was warmth in her hands. Warmth he needed. He let her pull him into her chest.

"The aftershock stopped the car. Something fell on the hood. Part of a building." Gregory leaned back against the wall and took advantage of the way she blocked half the triage center from seeing his face.

Bette wiped the fresh tear away for him. "You really didn't waste any time getting all dirty did you? I'm not going to be able to take you anywhere."

Laughter was lifetimes away, but he did manage to smile for a second before his face collapsed in on itself. "They said she has internal injuries. Bette-" He looked past her into the faceless crowd. The world was continuing all around him and he was no part of it. "I haven't seen her like that. So pale I could see through her skin. She has these little tiny veins in her cheeks that I've never seen before. Little blue ones."

Gregory looked up at the canvas tent over them and then down at the cement beneath his feet. "She said she loved me."

Bette cupped his cheek, feeling the dried sweat in his hair as she checked him for signs of the accident. "Of course she did. Poor thing probably thinks she's dying. Women like to confess their deepest, darkest secrets." She settled against the wall and wrapped her fingers around his wrist. As she moved her fingers up towards his elbow she stopped and examined the bandage there.

"You didn't get hurt too did you?"

Shaken his head weakly, Gregory lifted his arm a little. "Olivia needed blood."

"Matching blood types." Bette winked at him, attempting to be cheerful. "How cute."

He let her take his hand. "If it keeps her stable long enough to get her to South Bay, I'd give it all."

She shuddered at the thought of the shining steel needle. "I'm glad you could help her. I don't mind the donating part. If they could get the blood out with some kind of magic device- great! I'd be fine." Shaking her head as she covered the bandage with her hand. Bette put on her best smile. "She's going to be okay."

"I keep telling myself that." Gregory ran his right hand up his leg and balanced it on his knee. "Over and over. As if I can make it happen if I say it enough."

Bette watched as AJ found them and started to work his way through the crowd. "Maybe you can. Positive thinking and all of that new age nonsense." She stood up to meet AJ and gave her hand to Gregory to help him to his feet.

He was slower to get up than she was used to. As AJ reached them Gregory's arm slipped around her shoulders. Bette didn't mind the familiar act, but it wasn't caring on his part. He stumbled slightly and Bette had to steady them both.

"How much blood did you give?" Bette hovered between amusement and concern. "Or did you go out to celebrate afterwards?"

Gregory found his balance and let her retrieve his water bottle from the ground at his feet. "I'm fine."

"Dr. Robinson said Trey's safe at South Bay." AJ's relief brought a glow to his face. "Bette's car is still working and the roads aren't too bad. Are you ready to head over?" AJ paused searching for Olivia. "Where's Olivia? Why isn't she with you? Is she with Trey already?"

Bette gave Gregory a moment, but he didn't volunteer any explanation. "Olivia was hurt when your car had a bad turn with part of a building. She's having some tests-"

She waited for Gregory's nod before she finished. "Ultrasound. Then they're flying her to South Bay."

"Oh my god." AJ deflated as if he'd been hit with that chunk of concrete instead of the car. "Oh my god. What's her prognosis?"

Gregory fielded that question. Bette couldn't help wondering what was fueling him now. His hatred of AJ or his love for his ex-wife. She supposed it didn't matter. Olivia needed his strength, that crazy manic strength that always kept him going. "She was barely conscious when I got here her. I don't know if she even knows where she is now."

"Where's the car?" AJ asked softly, trying to put it all together in his head. "If she had internal injuries you shouldn't have moved her." His fear lit a fuse he couldn't control. Even though Gregory had saved his life a few hours ago, the hatred between them was too stubborn to die.

"You could have killed her just by moving her. How dare you-" He grabbed Gregory's sweat-soaked collar. "How dare you play with her life."

Gregory just stood there. Watching AJ as if he were miles away. "The car exploded. We both would have died if I didn't move her."

Bette took AJ's hands off of Gregory. She wasn't going to make him explain why he would have died too. "Olivia's in the hospital now. They're taking her to a bigger one. She's going to be okay."

Tyus interrupted them. "Mr. Richards-"

Bette and AJ whirled around, all of them focused on what the young doctor had to say. It was Gregory who got Tyus' report.

"When we drew fluid from Olivia's abdomen we found a lot of blood. Her internal injuries are rather serious. We started to do an ultrasound, but her blood pressure's still dropping." Tyus looked over Bette and AJ. "Do either of you have type O blood?"

Bette shrugged apologetically. "A plus, sorry."

AJ fidgeted with his watch. "AB. All the Deschanels are."

Tyus' expression changed briefly. As if something was tickling at his mind. "I had to ask. Our supplies are stretched to the limits by this quake." He turned to Gregory. "Olivia's stable for now. She's being prepped in the parking lot for the helicopter."

Gregory pushed past Bette and started to make his way to the parking lot. "I'm going with her."

"As her husband-" Tyus paused when AJ made a choked noise. Bette stopped him with an elbow to the gut. Gregory looked at her with quiet desperation. Though the good doctor seemed confused, he continued, "You can fly with her."

"Take me to her." Gregory begged as if AJ and Bette weren't even there.

Bette only nodded. "AJ and I have to talk. We'll meet you there."

AJ started to protest but she pulled him away. "Let them go." Bette hissed with all the power she could muster. "Just let him go."

"He's not her husband." AJ yanked his arm out of her grasp. "He's your husband not hers. He has no right to make her decisions for her."

"Oh honey-" She dragged him further from the exit into the parking lot. Bette pushed him into a chair. "Just shut up for a moment. Stop trying to be Olivia's knight in shining armor and just listen to me. I'm wiser than I look. Okay?"

AJ folded his arms across his chest, but waited without protest.

"When Gregory and Olivia divorced-"

AJ rolled his eyes and started to speak but Bette covered his mouth.

"Just listen to me. Livie was worried about what would happen to her. She didn't want Caitlin and Sean to have to make the hard decisions." Bette rested her hand on his shoulder and buried her worries. "Gregory has power of attorney for her. If anything happens to her, he makes all the choices for her."

AJ forced his way out of the chair. "She let him put that in the divorce?"

"No no no." Bette grabbed his chin and stared directly into his eyes. "You really aren't as smart as you are suave are you?"

Her fingers stung his chin. AJ hadn't realized how much she cared for her friend. How much emotion was hidden behind those laughing blue eyes.

"Livie asked him for it. She told me that she knew he'd make the right choices for her." She released him and kissed the place on his chin she had grabbed. "It was what she wanted. And I support that. You should support that."

AJ felt her arms wrap around his shoulders and he let himself fall into her embrace. "All right."

Bette sighed in relief as she rested her head on his shoulder. "That's a good boy." She took a deep breath before she pulled away. "Come on, let's go. If we start now we can check on the little guy. Mini-dimples."

AJ checked his pocket for her car keys and nodded quickly. "Let's go. Before they start closing down roads."

Tyus signed off on the bottom of Olivia's chart as he tucked it into her stretcher with her. Gregory stood on her right, fingers wrapped around her cold wrist. The helicopter's approach thumped through the air like the heartbeat of a huge creature.

The air rushed around them, and the landing lights were brilliant against the darkness of the stricken little town. Tyus let the paramedics load Olivia into the helicopter. He caught the captain's arm. "Send her directly to surgery when you land. As close to the top of the list as you can get her, all right?"

The captain nodded and climbed back up into his seat. "You got it. Anything else?"

Tyus knew no one could hear him over the noise of the helicopter blades but he still looked around clandestinely. "Bring me back a copy of Trey Deschanel's chart. Something doesn't add up."

"No problem. See you in an hour for my next pick-up."

Tyus ran back as the helicopter whirred into high speed. All Deschanels were type AB according to AJ. Why did he remember Trey's blood type as being different? Why did it bother him as much as it did?


	12. surprises

Inside the helicopter was surprisingly quiet. The chop of the blades faded into the background, part of the slow beep of Olivia's heart monitor and the crackle of the radio in the front. He saw her lips moving before he heard her speak. Gregory had to lean over her face to hear her.

"The baby-"

She must mean Trey. Gregory chastised himself for not telling her earlier. "Trey's fine. You're going to be with him. He's at South Bay as well."

"No- not Trey-" Her hand squirmed in his grasp. She moved her mouth again. "Our baby. Our baby."

Gregory felt his heart settle like lead in the pit of his stomach. How was he supposed to explain to her that their baby was dead. They'd lost their chance.

The flight nurse caught the odd look on his face. "She's in pretty rough shape. She probably won't remember what she's saying."

"Lie to her?" Gregory asked as the dead feeling crept up his chest.

"Keep her calm. Talk about something happy." The nurse suggested as she looked out over the dark city beneath them.

"She's probably dancing with Cole and drinking champagne." He rubbed her hand between his, coaxing the warmth back into her flesh.

"No, Caitlin's not a baby." Olivia was nearly amused. He caught the hint of a smile on her white lips. "She's safe on the ship."

"That's right sweetheart." Gregory could have kissed her for remembering that detail. "Sean's there too. He's safe."

Olivia's eyes tightened but her lids stayed tightly closed. "What about the baby? Gregory-"

He couldn't think of anything else to say. He was just going to lie but Olivia was ahead of him.

"Gregory Junior. I want to see him."

He was about to ask her what she meant, but Olivia wasn't listening to him. "I'm sorry." She whispered suddenly. "I'm so sorry-"

The nurse pushed him back against the side of the helicopter. "We're landing." The roof of South Bay was a pool of light and a huge red cross. As the helicopter came to a stop, the light flooded in and illuminated her face. Even her eyelids were nearly translucent. The skin of her face was getting gray, like the sky a moment before dawn.

He climbed out of the helicopter at her side. "You might get to see him sooner than you think." She'd been young when they lost the baby. Olivia had bounced back then. This time she was slipping from his fingers.

The doctor who met the chopper caught the tears snaking down Gregory's cheek and hanging brilliant on his chin. "Keep talking." She suggested with professional calm.

Gregory walked slowly at her side, one hand on her shoulder and the other wrapped around her fingers. "Liv- Hey-" He brushed her cheek and smiled when her eyes opened sleepily. "Kiddo, do you remember-"

She cut him off, innocently pleased with herself. "I remember the first time you called me Liv.'

"Oh really?" Trying to tease was harder than he thought.

Her lashes fluttered slowly, but she kept her eyes open. "We were just starting to see each other. You were teasing me. I said 'Gregory' sounded like a knight. A lord of a medieval castle. Sir Gregory the Gallant."

The doctor, Dr. Machida according to her nametag, handed him a stack of release forms and a pen. Gregory stayed at her side. Signing the first form as he smiled down at his ex-wife. "Then what?"

"You said 'Olivia' sounded like a queen." Her eyes twinkled even through the haze. "A noble Roman lady with perfect black curls." Olivia pretended to be scandalized. Just as she had then. "You played with my hair."

Gregory paused with the pen in his hand. The form above was one he'd seen before. When Olivia miscarried. When Sean needed brain surgery.

'In any surgical procedure the chance of a fatal incident is present.'

He met her eyes. Olivia was years away and smiling as if she didn't have a care in the world. Gregory signed his name and scratched out the date.

"You were horrified, weren't you?"

Someone took the forms and touched his shoulder. "You have a few minutes."

Olivia turned her head towards him a fraction. "I giggled. You stopped and stared at me. You got serious. 'Olivia was too proper.' You said, for me to giggle like that."

"You said there was nothing wrong with giggling. In fact, you liked how surprised I looked when you laughed." Gregory sank into the chair next to her.

"I thought nothing surprised you." Olivia's eyes slipped closed again. "But you said-"

He couldn't help finishing her sentence with her. "Liv- you surprise me. Every time I look at you."

Her fingers slipped out of his hand as her hand went limp.

"Mr. Richards. We're ready for her."

Gregory stood up, but his legs were heavy. He kissed her forehead, sealing the lines of her face into his memory. "Surprise me this time."

They wheeled her past him into the surgical ward. The door closed over the squeak of the wheels of her gurney. Gregory watched until the door went still.

"Make me wrong."

Bette held Trey to her chest and grinned in spite of everything as he snuggled against her.

"Should we take him home?" AJ asked softly as he rubbed the little boy's head. "The hospital said he's all right."

"Where does he have to go?" Bette wondered aloud as she bounced him on her knee. "His house is destroyed. His parents are trapped out there-" She pointed out to the ocean outside the window. "On the Titanic. His Grandma's in surgery."

"Gregory's a wreck." AJ took Trey from her to give her a break.

Bette reached for her styrofoam cup of weak coffee. "I've never seen him like this."

"I didn't think he could get like that." He passed Trey part of a graham cracker and the little boy started gnaw on it. "Gregory's not supposed to feel anything."

Bette finished the dregs of her coffee with a wince. "That's not true and you know it."

He knew the look in her eyes, the steel beneath her smile. "Not you too." AJ leaned back into his chair. "What is it about him?"

Sighing as she left her chair in search of more coffee, Bette poured and answered. "Passion." Turning around to AJ, she nodded to his skeptical look. "When he looks at you, you like feel you're part of something bigger than yourself. Better than you've ever been."

AJ watched the poise with which she sat down. The calm she had in the worst of circumstances was nearly as comforting as her smile.

"And don't ask me how I know. Just trust that I do." Bette finished as she blew across the top of her fresh cup of coffee.

Trey finished his cracker and tugged at AJ's hand until he was given another one. "Is it that easy to see through someone?"

"I see a lot." She dropped her shoes to the floor and pulled her feet up into her chair beneath her. "But before you ask, you just look like regret."

AJ felt her knee brush against his thigh as she got comfortable. "What do I regret?"

"That you don't have what Gregory's about to lose." Bette dug her fingers into the muscles of her forehead and tried to smile away her headache. "It doesn't matter that he's divorced, or that he's lost two children before they could even cry. You've never had that."

Her head dropped to his shoulder and warmth blossomed in his chest. "You've never opened that playboy heart of yours enough to let those feelings in. You just watch and wish you knew what he felt."

Her hand wrapped around his arm. "You have to watch Gregory experience parts of life you didn't even know about. Deeper, richer- darker emotions that you'll never have." Her fingers worked their way down to his. "And you hate him for that."

AJ returned the squeeze of her hand.

"You hate him almost as much as you hate yourself." The scalpel of her observation cut through to his heart, but she accepted it. She smiled up at him. "Gregory's life is going to hell and you envy him. You can't stop watching because he has love. He may not know what to do with it and he definitely makes a lot of mistakes."

"But he feels." Bette kissed his cheek. AJ had forgotten he even knew how to blush.

Tyus set down Trey's chart on the wreck of his make-shift desk. It was impossible. It just couldn't be true.

"Eric?" He caught the intern loaded blood samples into a cooler to be tested later. "Eric did we get a sample when you did the transfusion from Mr. to Mrs. Richards?"

The intern nodded and tried not to yawn in exhaustion. "It's in here. I tried to keep them in alphabetical order. Is something wrong?"

"Oh no." Tyus tapped the young man's shoulder and smiled warmly. "You've done a great job. Really- I would have had a hard time coping without you."

The younger man grinned foolishly. "Thanks."

Tyus winked at him. "Don't let it go to your head. I still want to see your work in lab before I pass you on to another doctor."

"Maybe after a few hours off?" Eric shut the cooler and handed him a small tube mark with 'Gregory Richards O+' in neat black marker.

"I think you're going to get a whole day." Tyus promised as he took the vial back to the little laboratory the clinic had to offer. He took a drop of blood from Gregory's vial and placed it on a slide. He removed a second drop from the little vial marked 'Trey Deschanel' and created a second slide. Shutting both vials away in small styrofoam cooler, Tyus sealed it with medical tape.

The DNA typing would have to wait until he got a better laboratory. For now all he had were his eyes and the microscope. That would have to be enough.


	13. shadow

Bette barely bothered to look at the television in the corner of the waiting room. She expected it would just be endless reports of the earthquake, and after having lived through it personally, she just wasn't intrigued by the statements of the other survivors. Trey was asleep in his car seat on the floor by her feet. She supposed she could send him back to the hospital nursery, but she felt bad using the nurses there as free day care. He was all right with her. The hospital was more than happy to share diapers and baby food.

AJ watched the reports lazily. His eyes were half closed. Bette was sure he was almost asleep. His head drooped onto her shoulder, and she stroked his hair slowly. Four hours had already gone by. Gregory wouldn't speak to anyone. He'd held Trey for a bit, whispering to the little boy things he wouldn't say aloud. When Trey fell asleep, Gregory released him without a word. For Gregory everything was silence.

The clock ticked time off above his head, but he never looked at it. He ignored the silver Rolex on his wrist. He lived for the door on the other side of the room.

AJ was asleep when the television broke the story. Bette hardly noticed. It wasn't until the name of the boat flashed on the screen that it hit her. The Neptune II was upside down in the wake of a tidal wave. It was one more horror story in a long line of tragedies. Bette was about to turn away, to join AJ in sleep.

He sat up suddenly. "Cole's on that ship. With Caitlin."

"And Sean, Annie and Emily." Bette finished as the chill settled over her.

"Emily?" AJ asked as he searched his jacket for his cellular phone.

Bette rocked Trey's car seat and the little boy slept on. She sighed as she looked up to the television. "Emily is my daughter. I haven't seen her in more than two years."

"All our children-" AJ shook his head slowly and dialed the coast guard on his cell phone. While he waited for an answer, he nudged Bette towards Gregory. "You have to tell him."

Bette's heart sank lower into her stomach. Nodding to AJ she left her chair and crossed the void to Gregory's side. His plate of food lay untouched in front of him. She rescued it from the chair and held up the cup of red jello.

"I thought you liked jello." No response.

Shrugging and forcing a smile, Bette picked up a cube of jello and held it in front of his lips as if he was a little boy like Trey. "I'm telling Olivia you weren't eating and ooo-" She bit her lip against the bitter knot in her throat. "You're going to get it."

"I hate jello." Gregory finally said as he reached for the plain white roll on the corner of his plate. "Olivia knows that."

"You used to eat it-" Bette teased as lightly as she could. "When Olivia was pregnant with Sean."

"She didn't throw up jello." Gregory pushed the cup back towards Bette and away from himself. "I would have eaten anything that she could keep down."

"Live had a couple of rough weeks there, didn't she?" Bette pressed the plastic fork into his hand and directed him towards the rice pilaf. "She looked like hell."

Eating came slowly but he was moving the fork from his plate to his mouth. Bette shook up his cup of orange juice and opened it for him as if he was a little boy. "Here."

To her relief, Gregory didn't fight her. He drank the entire container and took the second one she offered. "I think she felt worse." He finished his rice and Bette handed over some of Trey's crackers. "But she never said much."

"She had you." Bette dug in the bottom of her purse until she found the change she wanted. Trading it for a chocolate bar in the vending machine, she split it with him. "That was what she wanted. She was so afraid you wouldn't want the baby. I used to think-" She leaned in secretively. "You can't tell her I'm telling you-"

Gregory wiped chocolate from the corner of his mouth. "Spousal privilege."

"For awhile I thought she was faking it. So you wouldn't be angry with her." Bette sadly examined the wrapper of the chocolate bar. Gregory produced a dollar from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Get something with caramel." He requested as he leaned back into his chair. "Why would I be angry?"

"Why wouldn't you be angry?" Bette watched AJ's discussion as she let Gregory unwrap the candy. "She was putting herself in danger. Risking her life to have another baby."

"I never thought that." Caramel caught on his lips.

Bette reached for it with a gentle finger. "Of course not, but you know her. You know what goes on in that pretty little head."

"I just didn't want her to suffer anymore." Gregory handed her the chocolate bar and sighed heavily. "Losing the baby destroyed her."

Bette wet her finger with her tongue and then cleaned the caramel from his chin. "I think she was better off than you were. She cried. She ranted and raved and hated me and the world. Livie got over it. You shut yourself off in a little cave somewhere and only came out again when she needed you."

Gregory found himself staring into her eyes, remembering the night he'd tasted wine on her lips. The night she'd been in his bed. "She only needed me because she was too sick to take care of herself."

She tightened her grip on his chin. "She needed you because she loves you. It's as simple as that. You're just too wrapped up in your own smarts to see it. Talk about being too intelligent for your own good."

He managed the barest of chuckles and leaned closer. "I think you're the only person who's ever told me that I need to cultivate my own stupidity."

Bette got up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, but at the last moment he turned. Their lips met in the type of bittersweet moment only two people entirely wrong for each other can share. She was warm and soft and he wanted to feel human.

AJ cleared his throat and started to speak before they even broke apart. "I need access to the Liberty Corporation's chopper. Cole and Caitlin are missing."

"Missing?" Gregory didn't even seem to register the word.

"The cruise ship, Neptune II- was overturned in the last aftershock. Sean and Annie are on the Coast guard cutter, but that ship needs to head back in with the survivors." AJ teetered on the verge of begging. He didn't want to have to fight Gregory, not in the state he was in.

"It's at the airport." Gregory replied simply. Bette hadn't seen him overwhelmed before. She hadn't seen him this torn. Caitlin- his beloved Caitlin was missing, but Olivia needed him. She needed someone to be there when she made it through her operation.

"I'll go with you." Bette volunteered as she squeezed Gregory's hand as hard as she could. "We'll bring the kids back for you. All right?"

Gregory bobbed his head and looked from AJ to the door to the surgical wing. "You'll bring her home?"

AJ nodded with manufactured calm. "I swear to you, Gregory- I'll bring her home, safe and sound."

With the remnants of his reserve, Gregory fished a crumpled business card out of his pocket. "I lent it to the relief effort. It's probably back at the airfield for refueling by now. That number should patch you directly through to the pilot. He can probably pick you up here."

Snatching the card out of his hand, AJ was out of the room in a moment to call the pilot.

Bette took more time. She patted his shoulder and kissed his cheek. "That was good of you. Livie would be proud." She reached down and picked up Trey's car seat. "I'll take the little guy to the nursery. They can look out for him while you think about his-" Bette nearly slipped. 'Mommy' was on the tip of her tongue. "You just take care of Livie for me. Okay?"

"She'll be here." He promised as he sank back into his chair. "No matter what I have to do."

Winking at him as she took the heavy car seat in both hands, Bette slipped out of the door. "That's the Gregory we know and fear."

He dropped his head back into his hands. Caitlin was missing. Sean had been shipwrecked. Olivia was fighting for her life in surgery. His life was falling to pieces around him, but he'd remained untouched. He would have given anything to have traded places with them.

If Olivia wasn't injured, she could be with Trey instead of the strangers in the nursery. If he was missing Caitlin could be dealing with her father-in-law instead of him. If he was fighting, he'd have control. He'd be able to do something instead of sit, trapped like an animal and wait for the bad news.

The waiting room grew quiet. Gregory was alone in worn plastic chairs. the wrapper from his candy bar hung empty in his fingers. He let it flutter to the floor. He watched the agonizing crawl of the minute hand on his watch. Hour six passed and he sat alone in the steadily lightening darkness. Hour seven brought the first hint of dawn.

He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep. The thump of the door woke him instantly. Gregory jumped to his feet, expecting Dr. Machida finally bearing news of Olivia's condition.

Instead, Detective Ricardo Torres stood in the doorway with an apologetic look on his face. His hands were in the pockets of his leather jacket, but his face was grim. "Mr. Richards, I'm sorry if I started you. Dr. Robinson said I'd find you here."

A uniformed detective stood behind him, looking just as dark as Ricardo.

"What can I do for you Detective?" Running on autopilot, Gregory couldn't help looking past him for the doctor. Where was the dammed doctor? Why wasn't she done with Olivia yet? Why didn't he have any news.

"I'm sorry about Olivia." Ricardo offered sincerely as he took a few steps in Gregory's direction. The uniform held his position by the door. "I hope she pulls through."

"Thank you." His tone grew clipped. Gregory had no use for these police officers. He wanted Olivia's doctor. "Is there something I can do for you Detective?"

From Gregory's lip the politeness sounded like an insult. Ricardo sighed, there were of handful of moments he hated in his career. Forcibly ripping a man from the one place he wanted to be was going to move to the top of the list. "I'm afraid you have to come with me."

Gregory's answer came immediately. "No." His certainty rang through the waiting room.

Ricardo pulled the warrant from his pocket. "I'm afraid I have to insist."

"I don't give a damn what you have there." Gregory's expression resembled that of an angry cobra. He was moments away from the strike. "I'm staying with Olivia."

Ricardo coughed and began to recite his warrant. "Gregory Richards- you are under arrest for the rape of Caitlin Richards. You have the right to remain silent-"

He reached for Gregory's wrist.

Gregory yanked his arm back but he stood silent in the face of his accuser.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney-"

Gregory started to laugh.

"If you can't afford one, one will be provided by the courts." Ricardo reached again for his hands but Gregory folded them over his chest in defiance.

He was still laughing, nearly hysterical as he stared at the blank expression on Ricardo's face.

"I raped my daughter?" He took a deep breath, but he was on the breaking point. The laughter continued despite his attempts to stop it. "I raped Caitlin? What kind of nonsense is this?"

"Just cuff him." The uniformed officer suggested impatiently.

Ricardo ignored his colleague and handed Gregory the warrant. "Dr. Robinson said he ran the blood test three times to be sure. There's no doubt, Trey Deschanel is your son."


	14. trust

"My daughter's missing." Gregory held the warrant lazily as he read through the contents. His chest still shook slightly with hysterical amusement. "Her ship went down off the coast. AJ Deschanel's searching for her right now. She might be dead. My wife-" He paused and corrected himself. "My ex-wife is lying there, in surgery, fighting for her life and you want to arrest me because my grandson is actually my son."

"However ridiculous this is. The warrant is in order." He handed it back to Ricardo. "But you can't arrest me now."

Ricardo sighed and felt the weight of his badge on his chest. "I have too."

Gregory shrugged and returned to his chair. "I'm not arguing that." His smile was that of a dying man. "Your warrant is dated the twenty-eight of July."

Looking down at his watch, Ricardo nodded. "That's today."

"It's half past five." Gregory pulled his knee up into his hands. "The courthouse doesn't open until eight. Judge Waterhouse jumped the gun a bit on that one."

"He can't be serious." Officer Jefferies insisted as he watched Ricardo put away the handcuffs.

"Will Olivia be out of surgery by then?" The detective wondered softly.

Gregory had won, but he cemented his position. "I'm not a serial offender. If I were a danger to the community, I would have hurt others by now. I would have bastards all over Sunset Beach." The hypothetical situation was nearly as ludicrous as the current one. "Until eight am I'm not resisting arrest by refusing to come with you."

Ricardo sat down in the chair across from him. "Are you saying you intend to after the courthouse opens?"

"I intend to sit here and watch that door until Olivia gets out of surgery. Everything I might do in accordance with that is still open to interpretation." Gregory's chest shuddered in a hidden sob of pain.

Turning to Officer Jefferies, Ricardo dismissed him with a wave. "I'll take responsibility for bringing Mr. Richards in. You can go back to the station."

Officer Jefferies nodded to his superior and kept his displeasure to himself as he left the waiting room. Ricardo watched the reflection of the sunrise in the ocean. He expected little from the conversation but Gregory surprised him.

"Do you remember high school biology?"

Ricardo turned in his chair and realized there was coffee on the table in the corner of the room. Getting up and collecting a cup from the large metal dispenser, he shook one of the little plastic cups of creamer before dumping it into his coffee. "Vaguely." He replied as he sat down next to Gregory.

Pulling over the table full of magazines, Gregory searched his pockets for a piece of paper. "I want to show you something."

Ricardo ripped a sheet from his notepad. "Here. Take this."

"Thanks." Gregory drew a square and divided it into fourths. "Olivia and I have the same blood type. O positive. Two people with O type blood can only have children with O type blood, so Sean and Caitlin are both type O." He wrote Caitlin's name across the top of the chart.

"As AJ pointed out earlier. Deschanel's are type AB, including Cole." Gregory added Cole's name on the side of his chart and started filling in letters. "If Cole and Caitlin had a baby, it would have to have blood type A or B. Cole can't have a baby with any other blood type."

Ricardo glanced down at Gregory's chart and nodded. "Okay, so Trey isn't Cole's son. Don't take this the wrong way but-"

"Anyone with type O blood could Trey's father." Gregory sighed heavily. "But Tyus must have run a DNA test, otherwise Judge Waterhouse never would have given you a warrant."

Ricardo stirred his coffee idly. "He said something about T-cells and genetic markers."

Gregory left his chart on the table and leaned back into his chair. "Dr. Robinson is nothing if not exact. The blood types must have tipped him off. Started him thinking."

"So Trey is your son?" Ricardo asked frankly. It was too early in the morning to worry about blunt words.

"it appears so." It hadn't sunk in. Everything was trapped on the surface because the only thing he could deal with was Olivia being in surgery. Olivia fighting for her life. Trey- Caitlin- the whole mess was only a mild distraction from what really mattered.

Picking up the paper, Ricardo looked at the little chart and up at Gregory before he asked his question. "Caitlin's not his mother, is she?"

One of his eyebrows shot up in surprise and Gregory's expression fell back into inscrutable. "Perhaps. Did the good doctor get a chance to run a full DNA profile?"

Ricardo shook his head. "No. He wants to draw more blood from you, Caitlin and Trey to send to the crime lab in Santa Barbara." The detective grew silent again but Gregory knew what he was thinking. His baby had died the same night Caitlin's was born. Olivia and Caitlin had the same blood type. Trey's blood hadn't been tested against either of theirs.

"Olivia's blood type is the same as Caitlin's." Ricardo ventured softly, relieved to think he wouldn't have to deal with this volatile case as long as he feared.

"And Olivia is a consenting adult, to which I share no relation outside of the bonds of matrimony, which were intact at the time." Gregory allowed himself the hint of a smirk, but his eyes remained closed in thought. "If Trey is the son I thought was dead, the rest of the world has a hell of a lot to answer for."

Ricardo nodded and even though Gregory missed the gesture, silence reigned quietly between them. After a while Ricardo read through the morning paper, most of it was tales of the earthquake, but it was a sign that things were returning to normal that it had been published at all. When he'd finished even looking through the classified advertisements and wondering if he could justify buying an old convertible MG to fix up.

The forty-five minutes Ricardo spent on the paper didn't seem to have passed for Gregory at all. He hadn't even moved. As seven am passed, Ricardo flagged down one of the hospital volunteers in search of something to eat. Muffins and orange juice were all she had to share with him, but he took it gratefully.

He set half of his spoils in front of Gregory, who opened his eyes slowly and took them mechanically. Ricardo couldn't help noticing how pale the other man was. The unstoppable force that was the myth of Gregory Richards had been brought down by a single twist of fate. He'd seen enough car accidents to know that a split second changed everything. One turn of the wheel changed deadly wrecks into accidents people walked away from.

Gregory had walked away. Some men might joke about wishing their ex-wives ill, but these wounds were too fresh. How long had Gregory and Olivia even be divorced? Two weeks? Three? There'd been something in the paper just last week about Gregory marrying Bette, but that was something financial. Something about Del Douglas.

The door on the other side of the room opened and Gregory was out of his chair before the sound finished echoing through the waiting room. Dr. Machida removed her blue face mask and tried to coax Gregory back into his chair but he was having none of it.

"Olivia? What happened? How is she? What's her condition now?"

"She's stable." Dr. Machida began as she removed the covering from her hair. "She lost a lot of blood. The donation Dr. Robinson took from you is what kept her alive long enough to get to me. We repaired all of the internal bleeding, but her spleen had to be removed."

"Removed?" Gregory ran his hand through his hair and tried to take it all in. "What does that mean?"

"It means it was too damaged for me to repair." The doctor removed the rest of her surgical garb and left it in a pile on one of the chairs. "But you have to concentrate on the fact that she's stable. She can live a completely normal life without her spleen."

"She can..." Gregory paused, curious about the wording the doctor choose. "Don't you mean she will?"

"Olivia's still unconscious." Dr, Machida pointed to the chair across from her as she tried to roll the kinks out of her neck. "She probably will be for some time. yet. Her body has a lot to recover from. There's also the possibility of secondary infection."

Gregory sank down into the chair like a man awaiting his own death sentance. "Infection? From what?"

"Olivia's spleen was ruptured in three places, there was tearing of small intestine, damage to her liver and severe internal bleeding. She's on antibiotics and she's not in immediate danger-"

"I want to see her." Gregory left his chair and started towards the doorway. "Where is she?"

"Maybe in a few hours." Dr. Machida recommended calmly. "When you've had some time to calm down-"

Ricardo cleared his throat and drew the doctor's attention. "Gregory won't be able to be here in a few hours. If you could give him some time now-"

The doctor pulled herself up slowly and collected her pile of cast-off clothing. "She's in recovery. Right this way."

Ricardo followed a step behind, filling in the thanks Gregory didn't seem to be able to find. "Thank you doctor. SBPD will owe you one."

The petite doctor managed a small smile. "I have a parking ticket from last week in front of the movie theater-"

Gregory let their voices fade into the background. Dr. Machida indicated Olivia's room with her hand and he followed that gesture. His hand slipped on the knob. His palms were sweating. He wiped them over the dirt on his pants and turned the knob.

His mind did a careful inventory, filing the view of the room away so he'd remember it always. Olivia was off of the respirator. Her chest rose and fell on it's own. A monitor in the corner kept track of her heartbeat in slow green peaked lines. The chair by the bed was waiting for him. He could take her hand and pour his heart out and she'd never know.

Gregory couldn't sit down. He'd been sitting too long. He stood at her side, and one hand fumbled with the sheet. Her hand was a moment's reach away but he didn't want to touch her. What if her hand was cold? What if her fingers were stiff? What if they never moved again?

He didn't dare touch her. He couldn't.

His hand had other ideas. Without his consent, his rebellious fingers caught her still ones like a lifeline. There was still warmth there. Touching her sent a rush of feeling up his arm that he wasn't prepared to deal with. It cut through him like a lance, ripping his chest to shreds. Before he knew it, he was speaking and like his hand his voice had joined the rebellion.

"I love you." His throat was so tight he could barely breathe. "I've always loved you. I think about my life, and everything I've done- " The cascade was unstoppable now. "I've been running towards every unreachable goal I could find because I thought that was what I wanted."

He collapsed, crumpling down to her bed. His head found her shoulder and he wept. "You used to tell me I was running away. That I'd never be happy until I turned around and faced what I was running from. If you don't wake up I'm never going to be able to tell you that you were right."

Gregory lifted his head to look at her. Her face was entirely still but just knowing she was there was comforting. "I should have taken care of you when our baby died instead of pushing you away. It was just so easy to tell myself it was your fault."

His fingers worked their way into knots in the sheet. "It was my fault. I never should have left you home alone and gone to work. I don't hurt when I'm not with you. I can push it away and pretend it doesn't exist. I can shut myself off, but not when I look at you."

"Not with you." He let his tears fall onto the bed and disappear into the white. "I love you more than I can handle. More than I can deal with. I'm losing you and I'm already lost."

He cupped her cheek, unable to find what he needed but still too stricken to turn away. "I can't ask you to save me Liv. I don't deserve it, but our son needs you. You can stay here for him because he never hurt you, or betrayed you. He never failed you the way I have."

His lips brushed her forehead and his tears ran down into her hair. "I swore the world away when he died. I don't have anything left but you. But you gave him back to me."

Gregory kissed her lips and sank into her shoulder again. "I'm going to spend every day telling him how wonderful his mother is." He stroked her arm and adjusted the blankets as the tears dried on his face. "It'll be easier if you're there."

It hurt too much to cry anymore. He had to go with Ricardo. "I won't be dead inside."

Gregory dropped his head to her ear. "You used to tell me how much you trusted me. This time I'm going to trust you. Don't leave me. Don't-"


	15. silences

"She's in pretty bad shape." Bette confessed as Sean pulled himself out of her hug. "Livie was hurt when the aftershock hit, She and Gregory were driving Trey to the hospital."

"Trey and Gregory are fine." AJ added as he opened the door to the hospital for his daughter-in-law. "They're both fine."

"But what about mom?" Sean asked as he followed Bette and AJ to the elevator. "Where's she now?"

"She was still in surgery when we left." AJ added as gently as he could. "I'll get in touch with her doctor, why don't you go get Trey and I'll meet you in the waiting room."

Bette took Sean's hand and nodded to AJ. 'Third floor, okay handsome?"

Caitlin and Cole hung back, comforting each other with the knowledge that their son was all right. Sean wouldn't leave Bette's side. "How did she get hurt?"

"I don't know exactly. Gregory said something fell on the car. Her side was crushed. He barely got her out before it exploded. He had to carry her nearly a mile to get her to the hospital. Oh cutie, I don't want to scare you, but he looked like hell. He wouldn't leave her. He wouldn't eat-"

She pulled Sean in and hugged him again. "But it's going to be all right. You hear me? She's going to be just fine-"

Cole and Caitlin disappeared into the nursery and Sean tightened his grip on her hand. "Where's dad?"

Bette smiled as best she could. "I'll be you whatever I have in my wallet that where ever your mom is, your dad's there too."

Managing a weak smile in return, Sean nodded. "I think I can find some lint to bet you."

Bette cuffed his shoulder playfully. "Come on, let's find AJ and your parents. I bet they'll be thrilled to see you."

AJ was in the hallway outside of the waiting room. He walked back and forth, pacing the floor in front of the doorway. His hands were crossed firmly over his chest. Bette left Sean and went to him, reading his pain in the set of his shoulders. He took her into his arms, pulling her in and lowering his head to her ear.

"Olivia's in a coma." He whispered slowly, holding her as she struggled to keep her feet.

Bette dug her fingers into his back through his shirt. "Oh god-"

He rocked her, sheltering her pain. "Gregory's been arrested."

She couldn't hold that in and she broke the moment. "Arrested? Arrested for what?"

Caitlin and Cole emerged from the elevator and their twin looks of confusion paralyzed their faces. "Arrested?" Cole echoed as he looked to his father.

"What?" Caitlin wondered as she shifted Trey's weight in her arms. "What is it?"

AJ pulled himself together but the effort it took was obviously painful. "It appears that Trey is his son-"

Caitlin backed into the elevator. "No-"

Cole looked from AJ to his wife and finally to Bette. Her hands were shaking. Sean looked like he was about to be sick. AJ took a step towards Caitlin. "Caitlin-"

She slammed her fist into the call button. All she could do was shake her head. "No. No, it's not-"

"Sweetheart?" Cole reached for her as the elevator opened. Caitlin retreated inside, trembling as if the earthquake was inside of her.

AJ nodded to his son and Cole chased her into the elevator. Sean stood at Bette's side and couldn't even move. "He-" He swallowed the lump in his throat. "He- he- raped Caitlin?"

Bette touched his shoulder and Sean recoiled away. "Oh my god." He whispered to himself. "It's not true." He shook his head and backed into the wall. Hitting it shocked him and he just kept shaking his head. "It's not true."

"Trey is-" AJ stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Gregory's son. I saw a copy of the paternity test."

"There must be some mistake!" Bette realized suddenly. "There has to be, he can't-"

"Oh my god." Sean repeated again. He whirled on AJ, suddenly remembering. "Where's my mom?"

"Room 317." AJ offered gently. "But she's still unconscious. They might not even-" His caution was lost on Sean as the young man jogged down the hallway in search of his mother.

"He didn't do this." Bette repeated to herself as she tried to steady her hands. "Gregory didn't-"

"DNA doesn't lie." AJ corrected her as gently as he could. "I can't believe it either- Poor Caitlin-"

Bette shuddered in disgust. "He didn't do this."

"You are the expert now aren't you?" AJ felt his gorge rise into his throat. "He's your husband."

Bette narrowed her eyebrows. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" AJ swung his arms in a wide circle. "Criticize Gregory? I'm sorry I can't let a little thing like raping his own daughter slip past me. I'm sorry I can't forgive him for taking my grandson from me. I can't give him the benefit of the doubt because there is no doubt! They ran the DNA twice. Trey is Gregory's son-"

"I don't care!" Bette erupted suddenly. "To hell with it. I don't care what DNA says. I don't care if there's a god dammed videotape. Gregory didn't rape Caitlin. Gregory didn't force her. He might not be the model father, but he would never, ever do that to a child." She shook a hand threateningly at AJ. "Especially not HIS child." Bette tucked her purse over her shoulder.

"Take care of Sean."

Deflated and immediately sorry he'd been so hard on her, AJ tried to make peace. "Where are you going?"

Bette reached for his hand and tried to meet his eyes honestly. "I'm getting to the bottom of this because I can't believe that he would hurt that girl. You didn't see the way she grew up. The way he would do anything- and I mean anything- to protect her. Gregory didn't hurt her. Something-" Her hands flew up wildly, but her face was steady. "Something insane has happened and I have to know what it is."

AJ took a deep breath and felt the anger leave his chest. "I'll be here when you get back."

Bette kissed his cheek and fled towards the elevator. "I knew I liked you."

Watching her go was like watching the sun slip behind a cloud. Without her his anger ran rampant and pounded in his chest. For all the sins Gregory had committed, this trumped them all. He'd raped his own daughter to keep her from having the child of a man he hated. But Bette believed he was innocent. Olivia still loved him.

Olivia- AJ realized he hadn't seen her since the accident. Since Gregory let her get hurt. He forced his hatred down to boil in his stomach. He had to hold everything together. He had to be there for the children. For Cole's anger and Caitlin's shock.

Sean was curled up around his knees on the floor outside Olivia's room. His shoulders were still shaking but his face was down towards the floor. AJ lowered himself next to the younger man. What could he say? What life experience did he have to draw on?

He rested his hands loosely in his lap as he crossed his legs. "Did you see Olivia?"

Sean choked and couldn't force himself to look up from the floor. "She looks like she's dead."

AJ barely heard him, but he didn't force him to repeat himself. "Her doctor said she was holding on."

"For what?" Sean spat out angrily. "Why? Dad's left her. Caitlin's a wreck-"

"For you." AJ insisted as he touched Sean's shoulder awkwardly. "For Cate and for Trey-"

Mentioning the little boy made Sean's entire body tighten. "She doesn't think Cate and I need her anymore." He left Trey out of it entirely How could he confess that he'd helped Caitlin get him. That he'd unwittingly stolen his own brother from his mother's arms.

"We always need our mothers." AJ replied gently as he resolved to get in touch with his when he finally got through this mess. "I think they know that."

"Do they?" Sean wondered as he rested his hands on his knees. "Does she? I couldn't even talk to her. I sat there and I couldn't even talk to her." His head dropped to his knees again. "What have I done?"

"I don't care if you've locked him up in hell, I want to see Gregory-" Bette's voice cut through the void of Sunset Beach's tiny jail.

Gregory lifted his head from the hard pillow on his cot and waited for the firestorm that was Bette. She arrived with a slam of the door and a sense of urgency that carried her all the way to the door of his cell. She tapped her foot while the officer opened the door. As soon as it was open she whirled on him. "Leave us."

Her frenzy was so unlike her that he couldn't help smiling. "Greggie- we have to talk."

He waved the officer back and sat up on his cot. "All right Bette." Gregory tried to be polite to the beleaguered officer. "It's okay Sommers. Just tell Ricardo Bette kicked you out. I'm sure he'll understand."

Bette threw herself on the cot next to him and demanded her explanation. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's good to see you Bette." Gregory leaned against the wall in his cell and closed his eyes. "Going on with what?"

"With what? With what?" She stuttered and grabbed his arm. "You're in here for raping your daughter. Hurting your little girl!"

"I didn't do that to Caitlin." Gregory ran his hands through his hair again, it was getting worse as time went on. He hadn't showered or changed. Dried sweat kept the dirt in his clothes. The grey was especially bright in the harsh lighting of his cell.

"Obviously." Bette hit him gently on the forehead. "How is Trey your son?"

He rubbed the spot on his forehead as if it hurt. "He's the baby Olivia lost."

"Oh my god." Bette got up but had to sit back down again. "Oh god- he's been in your house, all this time. Poor Livie, poor poor Livie-" Her hand went over her mouth. "Does she know?"

Gregory nodded as he tried to wish her calm. "I think she does. She nearly told me on the way to the hospital but she was afraid." Gregory reached for her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "She was afraid of what it would do to Caitlin. How it would rip her heart out to lose him-" He lowered his head to her shoulder, fighting the tears in his eyes.

"She didn't tell me."

Bette rested her chin on the top of his head and pulled him close again. Letting him finish without saying a word.

"She knew our son was alive and she didn't- she couldn't tell me."


	16. delirious

"Can't I be there?" Bette asked softly as she tightened her grip on his fingers. "Don't you need somebody? Someone who doesn't think you're a monster."

He squeezed her hand before pulling it back to finish buttoning up his shirt. Gregory had clean clothes, but even a freshly starched shirt and neatly pressed pants couldn't add back what nearly two days without sleep had taken away from him. His eyes were unnaturally bright as she pulled the suit jacket over his shoulders. "I know you're in my corner and you don't know how much I appreciate that, but I need you to be with Olivia."

"Because you can't-" Bette finished with his tie and smiled at him as best as she could. "Be with her."

"Not until I'm arraigned. If the grand jury throws out the case I'll be at the hospital as soon as I possibly can." He sighed heavily as he tried to center himself. "If not, I'm meeting with my accountant to discuss bail."

"Do you think they'll let you out?" She touched his shoulder, trying to put together a good idea of his chances.

Gregory gave her his impervious look and Bette realized he had no idea. Kissing his cheek was the best she could do. "Good luck."

Gregory returned the kiss on her lips, sending a chill down her spine. "Thank you." He waited at the door as the officer let them out. "Now go. Stay with Olivia. Make sure she doesn't wake up alone. Do that for me."

"Hey-" Bette's eyes glistened in the harsh fluorescent lighting. "I've never taken orders from a husband before, what makes you think I'll start now?"

Gregory shared a look with the officer and she turned her gaze politely away. He nibbled up her neck towards her ear. "Because I'm the best and you know it." He slid his hand down her back and danced it across her bottom. "Now get going."

Bette giggled in spite of her terror for her friends. Gregory was joking. If he could still find the humor in the situation, Olivia would be all right. If Olivia was all right everything would be fine. Everything had to be fine.

Pain was white and hot. The darkness was cool. She wanted to stay there, in the darkness. Nothing hurt there. She didn't have to be in pain. She didn't have to fight. She could stay where it was quiet. Where it was dark and safe.

But she was alone there. Olivia didn't like being alone. Forcing herself back into the pain was one of the most difficult things she'd ever done but she had to fight. She had to get back to her baby. To-

"Gregory-" Olivia whispered through parched lips.

Sean looked up from the floor. She hadn't moved. Had she?

AJ's head had flown up too. He joined Sean as they waited, neither of them dared to breath in case the sound covered up any move she made.

"Gregory-" She repeated to the emptiness above her bed. Olivia's head turned slightly and Sean left his chair. He had to see because he had to know. She'd moved. She moved again. A curl of her hair slipped from her forehead and cascaded down to the white pillowcase.

"Gregory..." Her plea trailed off into a sigh of pain. AJ let Sean take her hand as he left to find the doctor.

Her hand was hot to the touch. Sean closed his fingers around it. "Mom? Mom do you know where you are? Can you hear me?"

She pulled her hand weakly out of his grasp. "Gregory-" She begged again as Olivia turned her head away from him. "Where are you?"

"Mom- it's me. Sean." He touched her forehead, but that too was burning up. "It's going to be okay mom. Just hang on. Hang on." Olivia's lips parted and shut once more before she grew still again. She hadn't heard him and she was gone.

The door clicked shut behind AJ and the doctor. She stood at the side of the bed and took her temperature. AJ circled to stand behind Sean, putting his hands on the young man's shoulders and lending him his support.

"Why doesn't she know I'm here?" Begging the doctor for answers, Sean didn't even feel AJ behind him. He felt his world drop out from under him. "Can't she see me?"

"She's delirious. She probably doesn't even know where she is." Dr. Machida explained as she finished checking Olivia's temperature. Looking quietly over at the terrified young man, she projected an aura of calm. "She must have developed a secondary infection." She paged a nurse and lifted the chart from the wall by the bed. "It's not uncommon in cases of multiple internal injuries like those she suffered in the accident."

A nurse entered and waited for instructions as Sean and AJ watched in nervous horror. "Get a white cell count and increase her level of antibiotics." Dr. Machida scribbled her notes on the bottom of Olivia's chart. "I want the surgical site checked hourly for signs of a local infection and keep her on standby. We might have to reopen her abdomen."

Dr. Machida gestured to AJ who then faced the daunting task of trying to separate Sean from his mother.

"She's in a hospital Sean." He whispered as he ran his hands up and down the young man's arms. "She's in good hands. We have to let the doctor's take care of her."

A single shudder ran through Sean's body before he dropped his mother's hand to her chest. He fled the room. He stood outside the door for a moment before he started to crumble.

Dr. Machida pointed silently to the nurses station, promising to be at hand to answer Sean's questions and left them alone. AJ offered his arms and the young man collapsed into them. He couldn't help thinking that Sean was the same age as Leo. He couldn't imagine watching his son lose his mother. Knowing that she teetered on the edge of life as Olivia did now. He couldn't even think about Gregory.

Judge Waterhouse looked over his glasses in disdain at the prosecution. "Your first witness is unavailable?"

Amelia Conrad, the flustered Assistant District Attorney looked up to the bench quietly apologetic. "She was supposed to be here an hour ago. All my attempts to reach her have been unsuccessful."

The balding judge folded his hands and glared down at her. "I can't believe you expect the court to be surprised that an alleged rape victim would be unable to face her attacker." Looking over his witness list for the next voice of the prosecution, the judge was surprised as a clerk ran in from the front of the room. He passed a note up to the bench.

Gregory sat and watched quietly from his solitary position at the table for the defense. He'd been offered a lawyer, his firm had even suggested he retain council from out of state. Someone unknown to ask the hard questions. He'd declined. His fate was in his own hands.

The note was left open on the desk before the judge. His sternness broken by his surprise, Judge Waterhouse looked over the jury. "Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your services, however, this case cannot proceed at this time. Councils, in my chambers if you would."

Gregory followed the young attorney and listened to the door shut and lock behind him. Judge Waterhouse wasn't the type of man to waste time.

"Caitlin, Cole and Trey Deschanel are all missing. The little boy went missing from South Bay less than an hour ago."

Amelia Conrad sighed and took a seat before the judge's desk. "Missing?"

Gregory smiled bitterly as he sat down at her side. "Cole is a master of the disappearing act. It may be weeks before they turn up." He wondered if he'd ever see his son again as Judge Waterhouse fidgeted with a silver letter opener.

"Without the alleged victim this case is the word of the defendant versus an unverified blood test." He steepled his fingers and mused for a moment. "I'm afraid I can't take this before a Grand Jury as it is. It's too full of inconsistencies." He lifted his gavel. "I'm putting a stay on the arraignment pending the return of Trey or Caitlin Deschanel."

Gregory straightened his tie before he got up from his chair. He was halfway to the door and only a few minutes from Olivia.

Halting him with a cough, Judge Waterhouse drew his attention back for a moment. "The warrant stands however. I suggest you don't leave town."

Gregory's bitter laugh was masked in the thud of wood against the desk. "I don't intend to leave South Bay." There wasn't a world outside of the hospital and Olivia. Caitlin, Cole and Trey would have to wait until she pulled through her surgery. Everything would have to wait until he saw her. Until he knew she was still with him. Until he held her again.

She lifted the chart into her hands. so much information on a few sheets of important looking papers. So many details and notes of importance. Annie looked down at Olivia and tried not to feel pity for the woman who had taken so much joy in her suffering in the past. If Caitlin's secret came out, it would be the end of everything. Gregory and Olivia would have their baby and Annie's stock.

Having her Aunt Bette be Del's heir was a bit strange, but her aunt would take care of her. Gregory would devote every spare minute not spent fussing over Olivia and the baby to making Annie's a life a living hell. She was sure of that. Caitlin wouldn't be any help. She'd probably be in jail for letting Annie steal her a baby.

"I can't go to jail again." Annie explained to the unconscious form in the bed. "It nearly killed me the first time and I am not going back there Olivia. No matter what I have to do."

Olivia's lips moved slightly and Annie dropped her head to just above her in order to listen. "Gregory-" Olivia pleaded to the nothingness that surrounded her.

"I'm sorry Olivia." Annie held the chart tightly to her chest. "But not even Gregory can help you now."


	17. 17:52

Sean wiped his tears on AJ's handkerchief and gave him a weak smile of thanks. "Sorry. Don't really know what got-"

AJ waved it off with a gentle smile of his own. "Mother's a pretty damn important. It's all right. Feel like talking to her doctor now?"

The younger man nodded and held the handkerchief awkwardly. AJ took it, folded it over and tucked it into Sean's shirt pocket. "Hang on to that. We're not out of the woods yet."

"Okay." Sniffing back the remnants of his tears, Sean tried to pull himself together. He had to be an adult about this. "Did you find Cole and Caitlin?"

AJ shook his head and tried to force the concern aside for the moment. "They weren't in the nursery. One of the nurses thought they might have taken Trey to a hotel to rest but the phones are still down and Caitlin's not picking up her cell." He sighed and dredged up his smile again. "I'm sure they're safe. Caitlin just needs some time-"

Both of them let it drop. AJ wasn't even sure if Sean was listening. Dr. Machida's office was the third one on the left in the maze of offices. She was buried behind a mass of paperwork and her lab coat hung over her file cabinet.

"Mr. Richards-"

Sean winced and tried to smile. "Can you call me Sean?"

The doctor sighed and leaned back in her chair. "It's a good Irish name, isn't it?"

"My mom had an uncle Sean. I think he lived in Ireland." He bit his lip just thinking about his mom but he tried to keep up the conversation. "I've always wanted to go. Maybe I can take mom when she gets better."

"There you go." Dr. Machida sighed and dug through her papers to find Olivia's records. "Now what can I tell you about your mother?

Sean's sigh left his chest as empty as his heart. "Why doesn't she know me?" AJ reached across the arm of his chair to take Sean's hand and the younger man returned his grip gratefully. "What's wrong with her now? Why is she-?"

"Delirium is the result of a high fever. She's running a fever of one hundred four degrees, that stems from an infection that we're treating." She rescued a surgical report from the stack. "As to the infection, Olivia was seriously injured in the car accident. Her spleen- that's this large organ here beneath the left side of the diaphragm, was ruptured in three places. Her intestines were torn and she had severe internal bleeding. A blood transfusion from your father at the clinic saved her life because it kept her alive long enough to make it to the operating room."

"He did that for her?" Sean asked softly trying to picture his father giving life to his mother. Most of his life Gregory had been the one to take from her. He took her strength for granted, he fed on her emotions and destroyed what little self-respect she had left when she was growing up. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he loves her." AJ clarified for him. "In his way, Gregory loves your mother more than he knows how to deal with. He can't live without her."

Sean looked at AJ, trying to make sense of everything. If his parents loved each other why was Gregory with Bette? Why was Olivia dating AJ? Why weren't they together?

"The important thing is that your mother's going to be fine. Her temperature's starting to come down and she should regain consciousness soon." The doctor's smile tried to coax optimism out of both of them. "She's going to be okay. Really."

"Now why don't you go to a hotel, get a hot shower, get some sleep and come back in the morning. Leave the number at the nurses station and if anything happens, we'll get in touch with you."

It was so much easier than she thought. Annie gloated as she returned her lab coat to the storage locker. A borrowed white coat and a professional glare was apparently all one needed to be a doctor during a crisis. One set of papers went one way and Olivia's went the other. It was just too easy. No one had seen her. Her Aunt Bette had been in the elevator with her and she hadn't even realized who the doctor was next to her.

She broke through the crowd out into the sunshine. As she looked up at the bright blue sky, it was hard to imagine anyone finding out her secrets. Caitlin and Cole were gone with the little brat. Olivia had been dealt with. She would never tell anyone her secrets. Gregory would get himself out of jail and if he didn't, she didn't loose anything. Bette had his money and her dear, loving Aunt Bette was more than happy to give her an allowance.

With Gregory out of the picture she might even be able to seize power at Liberty. Annie smiled to herself, feeling as light as the summer breeze around her. It was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine.

The elevator Bette was in crawled up to the third floor. Some redheaded doctor had gotten off as she had gotten in. It didn't matter. Her mind was only on Olivia. Maybe she shouldn't have left the hospital. Were Sean and AJ still with Olivia? Was she awake? Had she been asking for Gregory? Did she know about Caitlin and Cole running away with her baby?

On the third floor Olivia's room was empty. Even her chart was gone. Her things were gone from the closet. Bette wondered if she'd gotten the wrong room. Olivia must have been moved. Did that mean she was out of intensive care? Was she out of the woods?

The nurses' station was empty. Bette waited a few impatient moments before calling down the hallway. "Hello? Hey is anyone here?"

A young woman in a set of bright blue scrubs hurried around the corner. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. What can I help you with?"

Bette set her purse on the counter and fidgeted with the strap. "I'm looking for Olivia Richards, she's not in her room. Has she been moved?"

The young receptionist called up some records on the computer. If she'd been older, she would have kept calm but she was young. She threw her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god-"

"I'm sorry." She explained with a catch in her voice. "Dr. Machida's in surgery I'll get you Dr. Robinson."

"Why? What is it? What happened?" Bette's heart leapt into her throat. "Where is she?"

The younger woman just backed up, hand over her mouth again. She nearly backed into Tyus Robinson who appeared in response to her page.

"Tyus thank heavens. This little one won't tell me where Olivia is." Bette's fingers met and she pulled them apart.

"I've got it Lindsey, you can go." He took the keyboard and typed in Olivia's name. "I'm sorry, things have been a little crazy since the earthquake." Olivia's records flashed onto the screen and Tyus' usually bright face fell. "Olivia Richards was rushed to emergency surgery two hours ago. Her heart stopped on the operating table. I'm afraid she's-" His voice caught slightly as his professional veneer failed him.

"No." Bette felt her own heart stop in her chest. "No. Read it again." She crossed the desk to look over his shoulder. The final line on the bottom of the screen ripped her heart out of her chest.

Time of death: 17:52 July 25th, 1998.


	18. numb

"Mr. Richards?" One of the paralegals jogged after him and caught him just before he escaped from the courthouse. "Oh Mr. Richards, I'm sorry to bother you." The young man caught his breath as he tried to finish his thoughts. "It's just that Judge Waterhouse needs you to sign your affidavit."

Gregory barely resisted the urge to strangle the young man. "Can I do it tomorrow morning?"

From the way the young man's face fell in disappointment he realized that wasn't an option. "Judge Waterhouse-"

"Would very much like me to do it today." Gregory finished for him. "All right. I'll come with you but I need this to be quick. I have to get back to the hospital."

"It's just the one thing." The assistant insisted brightly. "It shouldn't take that long."

When he finally freed himself from the courthouse the roads were still a mess. Most of the stoplights weren't working. Police officers stood at the busy intersections and waved people through. Gregory felt time slow to a crawl as he waited for a blasting crew to remove some of the rubble between him and the hospital. He couldn't remember what route he'd taken that morning. Ricardo had driven and he didn't note what roads were open.

He hit his hand against the steering wheel and tried to force himself to stop worrying. Olivia was all right. She'd been asleep when he left. Peaceful. Even angelic.

His hands were sweating again. Wiping them against his trousers in frustration Gregory tried to place his feeling of anxiety. Olivia was all right. He inched forward towards the intersection. Of course she was all right. They would have called his cellular phone if anything had happened to her.

His line of traffic stopped to let a car from the other direction pass. The phone sat on the seat next to him. He reached over and lifted it from the seat. In black capital letters the phone politely announced its' condition.

"NO SERVICE"

The hospital couldn't call him. The car in front of him finally moved and he slammed his into first gear. The Jaguar whined at the abuse but it slipped through traffic as he left the main road. The back roads were more cluttered, but he drove easily through the mess. It didn't matter. Olivia mattered. Getting to the hospital mattered.

The car came to a stop in the back of the parking lot. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and stuffed them into his pocket. Not taking the time to lock the door he headed into the chaos of the hospital. The emergency room was still full as he made his way to the elevator. The space in front of the elevator was crowded with people so he gave it up in favor of the stairs.

Panic was an unfamiliar emotion for him, but it had been dominant since the accident. When Bette had forced him to shower, Olivia's blood had been on his shoulder. It had soaked through his shirt and dried on his skin. He'd scrubbed the spot on until his skin was pink. He touched it absently as he opened the door into the third floor. There wasn't going to be any more blood. She'd be awake and waiting for him. She'd turned her head, smile faintly and say-

"Gregory- honey-" Bette stood up as he walked into the waiting room. Her eyes were bloodshot and there was something wrong with the way she left her chair. An unfamiliar man sat next to her but he didn't get up.

"Where's Olivia?" He asked immediately panic sent ice through his stomach in shards of pain. "Why aren't you with her."

The other man, a doctor, stood up but he didn't extend his hand. "I'm Dr. Stebner, I was just telling Bette about Olivia's operation."

"An operation? What operation?" His eyes drilled into Bette and she melted under his gaze. A tear hung liquid on her eyelashes before cascading down her chin.

It was only the first. "Gregory, listen to the doctor." Her voice was too calm. Too dead of emotion.

"What happened?" The growl tore out of his throat and his hand caught her shoulder. "Bette-"

"Mr. Richards please-"

He ignored the doctor and his fingers dug angrily into her shoulder. Bette didn't wince. She didn't look away. Instead, she let him watch the tears run rampant down her face. "Livie took a bad turn this morning. She had to go back to surgery." Her mouth moved but the sound stopped. Bette screwed her eyes shut for a moment before she found the strength to finish. "Her heart stopped-"

Gregory dropped his hand as if she had burned him.

"They couldn't get it started again." Finishing in a sob she wiped desperately at her eyes. "They couldn't-"

"No." His voice was soft, like the first whisper of thunder. "No, there must be some mistake. She was-"

"Fine when we left." Bette finished as she caught his shoulders. "I know honey. God, I know. But she couldn't-"

"Handle another surgery. There was just too much trauma." Dr. Stebner could have been God and Gregory wouldn't have heard his apology.

"No Bette- It didn't happen. She couldn't-" He tried to pull out of her grip, but Bette forced him down into a chair. When had she gotten so strong?

"No-" The storm rumbled through his heart but he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel the tears on his face, or the way his hands wouldn't move.

She knelt down in front of him but he couldn't focus on her face. His eyes weren't functioning.

"The doctor told me she didn't feel anything-" Her whisper echoed from miles away from him. Wherever it was that she was still touching him. Was she touching him? Did he even still have a body? "It was quiet."

Her breath caught and she fought to keep herself from falling into hysteria. Bette had to hold herself together because he couldn't. Gregory's eyes found hers but they were dead. Glass mockeries of life that had refused to die when his heart died. "I can't-" His mouth moved without him. "No..."

Rolling forward as he collapsed into her, Gregory's shoulders lost their strength. the indomitable will, the force unassailable that had been Gregory Richards was gone. Evaporated into the void. People came and went around them. Time moved the hands on the clock face on the wall. Bette cried her eyes dry and the hole in her heart bled pain. Pain that filled every place in her body. Pain replaced life. It chased warmth from her body. Leaving a chill behind that threatened to take up permanent residence in her body.

Gregory felt nothing. Not the growing wetness on Bette's neck from his tears. Not the desperate, empty shaking of his body. Nothing. the void of her absence consumed him and left a shell of a man. A shadow left alive by accident when all light was gone.

Sean heard the phone ringing before he even woke up. It integrated itself into his dreams, mixing in with the strangled terror of his nightmares. He was still half-asleep when he pulled the hotel phone to his ear. "Sean?" The voice on the other end sounded mechanical. Like a robotic version of his father. "Sean-"

"Dad?"

The other end of the line was silent. Had he lost the connection?

"Dad are you still there?" something rustled as Sean sat up in the dark hotel room. The curtains were shut and he wasn't sure if the green digital clock meant seven in the morning or evening. Had he slept a day away?

"Cutie-" The voice was Bette's and as soon as he heard her, he knew the world had come to an end. His father couldn't talk to him. His father couldn't speak. Sean dropped the phone from numb fingers. AJ's car keys were in his pocket. He woke the older man as he dug for them.

AJ's surprise faded as he realized someone was on the phone that hung limply over the side of the bed. Letting Sean keep his jacket, AJ took the phone. It spoke to him for a moment before he replaced it on the base. In the darkness Sean couldn't see his face. In the silence between them AJ's gasp was an explosion of suffering. Sean hit his knee on the edge of the table, but he continued to the door.

He couldn't speak to AJ. He couldn't hear AJ trying to break the news to him in the elevator. He didn't hear the sound of the engine as the car open. Sean heard his father. The hollow voice that had replaced what he knew. The ghost was his father now and he was all he had left.

Bette hugged him as she she'd never let him go when they walked into her beach house. Sean just watched the stairs, waiting for his mother to come down from the bedroom and explain it was all a misunderstanding. Bette's aching eyes continued to cry with him and he waited.

His father looked through him as if he were a pane of glass. He reached for him, but Gregory just stood there.

"Dad?" He ventured softly, feeling his grief settle over him like a shroud of blackness.

Gregory's face cracked like a marble statue. "I want you to know I love you."

His throat rasped painfully but he continued to speak. "I can't remember the last time I told you. But I want you to know that I'm proud of you." His eyes were devoid of expression. Free of the restraint he always had when he looked at his son. "You have your mother's heart."

He ruffled Sean's hair as if he were a little boy again. "Never let anyone take that from you. You have her passion and her strength. No matter what I've said in the past, I am now and will always be proud of you. You're going to be a better man than I and I couldn't be happier."

Then he retreated to the balcony. As if speaking had taken all that was left of his strength. Sean watched him as the night grew dark around him. His father faded into it and let it take him away.

Caitlin waited in the tiny sidewalk cafe. The early morning sunshine was still a shock to her jet-lagged eyes, but she let it warm her. Cole waved as he took Trey down to see the ducks in the canal. He'd been so good to her. He hadn't asked her to explain about her father. He lay next to her in the quiet of their first morning in France and told her he loved her and their son. That love was all that mattered to them. Love was everything.

She finished writing out the check as Annie came around the corner of the winding street. She slipped into the chair across from Caitlin and let the waiter bring her coffee.

"Picked a remote enough part of France, didn't you?" Annie asked as she brushed dust from her shirt. "Took me nearly a day just to get here."

"It's safe here." Caitlin explained with apology. It was a new world in France. No one knew her. No one knew she'd faked her pregnancy and no one knew her son was her little brother.

"If you say so." Annie sipped her coffee and looked unconvinced. "I guess I never realized safety was so dull."

Poking at her omelet uneasily, Caitlin forced herself to smile. "You don't have a family." She finished her bite of breakfast and pushed the check across the table towards Annie. "That's it. The entire contents of my trust fund. It should be enough to let you start a new life. Cole and I don't need it."

"You're not going to either." Annie declined a menu and stuck to her coffee. Her hands wrapped around the cup and she looked up at the other woman with dread. "It was the last thing I heard before I left Sunset Beach. i'm sure Sean will try and find you to tell you-"

Narrowing her eyebrows suspiciously, Caitlin tried again to read Annie's expression. "Tell me what?"

"I don't want to be the one to have to tell you this, but-" She leaned back into her chair and finished the last of her coffee before tucking the check away into her purse. "You're going to be receiving a substantial check, fairly soon I imagine."

Tilting her head in confusion, Caitlin wondered. "A check? For what?"

"Your mother's estate." Annie flagged down the waiter for another cup of coffee. "I'm sorry for you Caitlin. I know how hard it is to lose a parent and not get a chance to say goodbye-"

Her own cup clattered against the table as it fell from her fingers. "What are you saying?"

"I know I never liked her, but I am sorry, for you," She corrected quickly and took a deep breath. "Olivia's dead." Annie fished her money out of her purse and left a few Francs on the table as she got ready to make her escape.

"My mother's dead?"

Annie stood up and started to back away from the table. "Her injuries from the car accident were more serious than they thought-"

"She's dead?"

"They rushed her back to surgery." Annie folded her arms across her chest and sighed. "I guess some things can't be fixed. I am sorry Caitlin. I know you liked her-"

"She was my mother." Caitlin pushed her chair back from the table and nearly knocked it over. "My mother-" She looked desperately in the direction Cole had disappeared in. "Oh my god. Oh my god-"

Annie looked at the table as Caitlin left the cafe at a run to find her husband. Someone needed to pay for Caitlin's meal. She reached into her purse and dumped a few more Francs to cover the breakfast she wasn't going to finish. "I am sorry Caitlin. I just couldn't go to jail. Not because of that btch and her brat that everyone seems to want so much."

She replaced her sunglasses over her eyes and swung her purse over her shoulder. "Never saw what was so great about her anyway. Bet no one's even realized I'm gone yet and St. Olivia's being mourned on the five O'clock news." She had enough money to start a new life. Enough that she'd never have to return to Sunset Beach again. Ever.


	19. grief

"Where's my son?" Gregory asked when he finally realized Bette was standing next to him on the balcony.

"He took my daughter and went to immigration in L.A." Bette rolled her neck across her shoulders. It hurt, as did everything else. "He's going to find out where Caitlin went and tell her. He wants her to hear it from him."

Gregory nodded once. He didn't look at her. "Caitlin might talk to him."

"That she might." Bette tried to smile and to her surprise she managed to twist her lips in a decent approximation of one. "Those two have always been so close. Your beauty and her sweet brother."

"In spite of their parents." He dropped his head to his hands and watched the stars twinkle quietly over the ocean.

"I think that's the most we can ask for as parents." Her hand ran tentatively across his shoulder but he didn't resist. "That our children turn out wonderfully in spite of everything we've done to the contrary."

Lifting his head and turning into her touch, Gregory acknowledged her for the first time since his life had been destroyed. "Caitlin and Sean are wonderful, aren't they?"

"They are." She dropped her head to his shoulder and snuggled closer. "They really are. You and Olivia did a good job-"

Olivia's name cut through the emptiness and brought a momentary flash of pain. It faded back into the void. "All we did was conceive them. I think they did the rest." He dropped his chin to the top of her head and pulled her into a desperate embrace. "Why did it take me so long to see what was right in front of me?"

The stars faded into the clouds as they blew in from the sea. Bette felt the first touch of rain against her face and pulled him back. "Come on Greggie, let's get out of the rain."

He let her pull him away from the balcony but he looked at her in confusion. "Is it raining?"

"It is." Bette shut the door and brought him in to the couch. "Just trust me this time."

He sat down because she gently forced him too. "I didn't trust anyone-" Gregory admitted from whatever dreamworld he had pulled away into. "I thought no one would ever be safe enough. That everyone would hurt me in the end. Like my father did." His eyes remained painfully dry and terribly bright as Bette sat down next to him. "But then I met her."

Bette reached into his lap and took his hands warmly. She snuggled closer on the couch, wanting to feel the warmth of a body against hers. The comfort of a human touch when she didn't even feel like one anymore.

"She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Gregory's fingers tightened around Bette's. "At first she wouldn't give me the time of a day. I'd look at her and she'd turn away. Smile that perfect little smile and pretend she hadn't seen me at all." The corner of his mouth turned upwards and the ghost of a smile haunted his face. "Then one day it changed. I know now it was because of Del's money- but then it was just like magic. I was watching her across the room at that party and she caught my eye and didn't look away. She put down her drink and took a step towards me."

Gregory closed his eyes as if he could hear the music from that night all over again. "I nearly tripped over my own feet to get to her. But somehow I made it. I stood in front of her and managed pathetically to introduce myself. She laughed."

Looking through her and seeing only his memories, Gregory fell into the past. "She laughed and told me her name." He ran his fingers up and down her hands, playing with the delicate bones. "I carried that name with me like a torch to light my way until I knew enough about her build my life around her."

"She made me feel like I could do anything." He shook his head and elaborated when he caught her confused expression. "She gave me a life Bette. Before her I had a career. I had cases, clients, presentations and paperwork. Then she waltzed in and suddenly I had dinner plans, opera tickets, and dreams. Beautiful dreams." Gregory fixed her with his bottomless gaze.

"I could see our children in her eyes." He cupped Bette's chin and ran his fingers up towards her hair. "I saw us walking down the beach when our hair was white, still holding hands like it was the first day we'd been together. She was the center of my universe and I was going to make sure she knew everything revolved around her."

"I wanted her life to be extraordinary."

Bette caught his face in both of her hands, feeling the stubble there. "It was Gregory. Trust me on this. You and Livie had your bad days, and God knows I heard enough about your faults to fill a whole set of encyclopedias on the subject."

Something flickered in his eyes and she kissed his cheek in a soft acknowledgment of his pain. "But hey, the good days were without number. And I can't tell you how many times she'd tell me something about you and I'd feel myself just turn green with envy. You had love Greggie. Real, deep passionate love. The kind of love that strikes like a bolt of lightning and changes everyone around you."

Bette let go of his face and folded her fingers in her lap. "You had something wonderful honey. Something the rest of us only dream about having when we try to explain the loneliness of our lives."

"I used to think being lonely only happened to the weak. That if I was strong enough, I'd never feel that way." Gregory ran one hand through his hair. When he found the traces of water from the rain on his fingers he stared at it in surprise.

"You don't have to be invincible." She wiped the dampness from his hand off with the edge of her sweater. "Sometimes it's all right just to be a man. And men can be lonely, destroyed or even angry when they lose the one person that made life worth living."

"I'm not angry." The lines on his palm seemed to disappear into the darkness.

Bette held on to his hand, tracing the calluses of a lifetime of pain. "Okay. Not angry."

He watched her move up to his wrist. "I don't feel anything." Gregory offered as she undid the buttons of his cuff. Bette moved to the other wrist as he watched her work.

"You will go on." She rested her hands on his shoulders and bared her heart. "I know it doesn't feel like it now. I know it's the last thing you want to hear, but you have to believe me."

He put a finger to her lips, hushing her as he traced the curve of her chin. "Stop." Gregory leaned closer, letting her feel the heat of his breathe on her face. "Just stop."

His lips were bitter, but no more so then her own. Kissing her didn't stir his emotions. A fire couldn't start where no tinder existed but that didn't matter. His hands remembered how to chase their way up her back and sink into her hair. His tongue knew how to enter her mouth. His legs brought him upstairs. Bette fumbled with the door to her old bedroom but when it opened it revealed an empty bed.

"Not here." He whispered as he removed her sweater with lazy hands.

Bette's eyebrows shot up as she let him lead her down the hallway. "Her room?"

Gregory opened the door and shoved her back towards the bed as if he hadn't heard the question. The bathrobe on the hook by the closet was her colors. Pale and beautiful in the darkness of Olivia's bedroom.

Her heart sank into her stomach as he pulled the black camisole over her head. She should tell him how wrong it was. How terrible it felt to think about sitting on Olivia's bed with Gregory kissing her neck. Bette sank into the bed and dug her hands into the bedspread. It was wrong.

But he wanted to have her. She'd been so afraid he wouldn't want anything anymore. No matter what she said or did, she hadn't gotten through. Bette wrapped her hands across his back and pulled him down to her. Olivia would understand that it wasn't about them. It wasn't making love.

Gregory wasn't even looking at her. When he breathed in, he smelled Olivia's perfume on the sheets. The sheets she'd brought from his house when they divorced. He remembered the touch of them, the kiss of silk against the bare skin of his back. In his dark, cold world, Bette was a momentary flash of warmth. A softness in a world of stone and mortar, and a last glimpse of life.

Olivia's name was the only one on his lips but she didn't care. He needed something from her and now was all the time they had. Their clothes fell to the floor by the side of the bed. By the time he joined them she was sobbing. Their union was wretched desolation turned to flesh and blood. Nothing was created, nothing sought. the ghosts of Gregory's life fluttered through his mind like the smell of Olivia's bed. The familiar had become the horrifying but he couldn't stop seeking it. This hell was his.

The emptiness was his to cherish because he had failed. He'd let her die. Gregory had promised she'd be all right and he had been wrong. He'd pulled her out of the car, saved her from the inferno it had become, and it was in vain. She was gone.

Olivia was dead and all of the light in the world had gone with her. His body and the body beneath him were shadows and dust.

Bette said nothing when he cried Olivia's name into her chest. Curling up in his arms, she sobbed with him. Grief eclipsed their guilt. Bette's gnawed at her heart like an open wound but his was soundless. She beat angry fists on his chest and released her self-hatred to the careless night. Crying until she was too tired to continue, Bette remained in his arms as the dawn turned gray in the window above them.


	20. human error

The sun crept lazily across the edge of the bed. It warmed her bare feet as the light moved up the bed. Bette was alone in the tangle of sheets. Gregory's clothes were gone. Her own were neatly folded and set on the chair. On top of them was a sheet of paper with a handwritten note.

"I want you to know I have no regrets about us. Nothing I've had with you has been anything less than what it was." He had signed the bottom with a single cursive G. It was neat, elegant even. Bette left it on the bed and looked at the framed photo of Olivia and Caitlin on the dresser.

She pulled the sheet tight around her chest. "Did you know Livie?" She wondered as she traced the gilt edge of the frame. "Did you know your baby was alive? Gregory seems to think so. He's going to find him and beauty and put your family back together. And if anyone can succeed with that. He will. You know that Livie, better than I do, you know that once he wants something, he gets it."

The sound of a voice from downstairs startled her and she made sure the sheet was fixed around her before she crept to the head of the stairs. "Who's there?"

AJ looked up to her and smiled apologetically. "I didn't mean to startle you." He raised an eyebrow as she came down the stairs to get a better look at him. "Or wake you but I see I did both."

Sneaking down the stairs, Bette watched the flush start on his neck. She still had it. "It's all right. What can I do for you Mr. Deschanel?"

"I want to come with you." AJ watched in pleasant surprise as she started the water for coffee without letting go of her sheet. "To bring Olivia home."

"How did you know?" Bette asked as she held the counter for support. "Don't you think Gregory will want-"

AJ extended his hand and smiled painfully when she reached back. "I don't think he can. I saw him yesterday. He's not himself anymore."

Bette pulled him closer to her, feeling his eyes on the bare skin of her shoulders. "He's not himself." She dropped his hand and brought the coffee grinder to whirring life. When the noise abated, Bette watched the dust of the beans fall into the pot. That's was all that was left for Gregory. The dust fate left behind. "I'm not sure he will be again."

She lifted the hot water and set it down again. "How could this happen to him? To Livie?" Choking on the pain that refused to leave her alone for more than a moment.

AJ wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held on. "You don't have to be strong for me. You've been strong for Sean. You've been a saint for Gregory. You don't have to be anything for me."

He reached around her and poured the hot water for her. "I was even hoping I could be something for you."

With his hand around her, it was difficult to turn around without losing the sheet. Bette didn't care. Throwing her arms around his neck, she gave up the last of her control. She didn't mean to, she didn't want to collapse into his embrace like a romance novel heroine, but she couldn't fight. She was exhausted, every ounce of strength had been given up to everyone else. He wasn't asking her to take care of him, instead he was offering to share strength and his pain.

Gregory walked up the steps of the courthouse with the kind of purpose that driven him all his life. He waited patiently in his favorite blue suit. It was the one that Olivia had once said was worth ripping off of him.

He was doing the right thing. Finally, at the end of his life, he was going to do the right thing. "I hope you'd be proud of me sweetheart." He toyed with the wedding ring on his finger. He'd put it back on that morning because it felt right. It was right.

"Mr. Richards?" The judge's assistant waited for him to get up. "Judge Waterhouse will see you now."

"Thank you." He followed her into the judge's chambers, straightening his tie as he sat down across from the ornate desk. "I'm sorry to make so many demands on your time your honor. I'd just rather get this done now."

"It's all right Mr. Richards." Judge Waterhouse closed his notes and gave Gregory his full attention. "What can I do for you?"

"I took the liberty of bringing these papers. I'd like you to watch me sign them, making sure they're binding." Gregory pulled the packet out of the inner pocket of his jacket. He unfolded them and passed them across to the judge.

"I'm not sure you needed a judge for this, Mr. Richards." Judge Waterhouse glanced across the first set and moved on to the second. "The state's case against you is made of tissue paper. This really isn't necessary."

Gregory shrugged and a secretive smile graced his face. "I believe in being thorough."

Judge Waterhouse inked his notary stamp and passed the papers back across to Gregory for his signature. "These most certainly are that."

"Well thank you." Gregory signed at the bottom of each page, dated and passed the papers back for the stamp that made them legal. "I really appreciate this and everything else you've done for me over the years. It's been a pleasure arguing before you."

It was an odd handshake, full of finality. Gregory tucked his papers back into his jacket and had a smile for the assistant on his way out.

He stopped at the beach house on his way. Leaving the papers in a neatly addressed envelope on Bette's desk by her computer he returned to the car. Starting the engine, he began to drive. It wasn't far. His journey was nearly over. His briefcase was on the seat next to him. His silent companion for the trip.

The morgue was in the hospital basement. The last time she'd been down in it was to say goodbye to Big Al before he went to the crematorium. Olivia's will hadn't been specific. Gregory was unable to even discuss it yesterday. A little digging through his office that morning had uncovered the mausoleum. A beautiful marble structure in the hillside cemetery just outside of town.

Sean said the ceremony wasn't important to him. He wanted to find his sister, and his brother. He'd grieve for his mother when everything else was done. Bette understood the feeling. No flower-strewn chapel was going to ease the pain of her loss.

AJ took her hand as they waited for the coroner. She brought it to her chest and hugged it to her as the sheet covered table rolled out to them.

The coroner gave them a moment before she pulled back the sheet from Olivia's face.

Bette gasped in horror. AJ nearly dropped her hand.

The dead woman had shoulder length brown hair, and her skin was pale with the touch of death. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were peacefully at her sides. AJ had too look again to be sure, but Bette knew.

"That's not her."

The coroner's eyebrows shot up in amazement. She checked the toe tag. "This says Olivia Richards."

"Maybe there was a mistake?" AJ wondered breathlessly. "Olivia's body is still back there somewhere?"

"No." The coroner shook her head in astonishment. "No, she's the last unclaimed body down here. The rest have been identified. I really don't understand how this could have happened." She went to the cabinet and pulled out the file. "This is supposed to be Olivia Richards. White female, age forty-four, heart failure following abdominal surgery."

Bette looked down at the poor woman on the table. Her eyes were too far apart, her nose was wrong. "But it's not her. The chart might say so, but the chart's wrong." She dropped her hands to the table for support. "Who is this poor woman?"

AJ's thoughts ran a little quicker. "If we find her chart, we'll find Olivia."

The coroner paged reached for the phone on the wall and paged Drs. Machida and Robinson. AJ pulled the sheet politely back over the unknown woman's face but Bette stopped him. "Give me a second. Okay?"

She rested a hand on the dead woman's shoulder and smiled down at her. "I don't know who you are and I'm sorry you're dead. Really, I'm not smiling because you're dead. I'm smiling because my best friend might be alive. I'm going to send you flowers." She lifted the sheet to pull it back over her face. "Lots of flowers."

The central information desk at the hospital was a hub of activity. AJ and Bette's discovery created a new explosion of movement. Dr. Machida and Dr. Robinson poured over the charts of their admitted patients, searching for the mistake. The woman who's name had been attached to Olivia's body.

"Why didn't anyone catch this?" Bette wondered grimly as she sank into a chair nearby. "Livie must still be in a coma. She has to be unconscious, it's the only way she couldn't tell them who she was. That has to be it."

AJ dropped his hands to her shoulders and held her against him. He sank down to kneel in front of her and kept his calm. "She could be in a funeral home, or buried under another name somewhere in town." He held her tight and tried to keep her in perspective. "Don't get your hopes up-"

"Samantha Parish." Dr. Robinson announced suddenly as he read aloud from a file in surprise. "The victim of a car accident, severe abdominal bleeding. Released from surgery yesterday afternoon and still unconscious." He glanced down her chart. "She's the right age, her injuries were similar. It was a simple enough mistake-"

He stopped short and indicated a signature at the bottom of the chart. "Was that?"

Dr. Machida shook her head. "That's not my signature."

"Nor mine." Tyus continued to read the folder as Bette and AJ hurried over to him. "These charts were intentionally switched." He met AJ's concerned gaze with a look of confusion. "The medical information matches the patients concerned. if the perpetrator wanted to hurt either woman, there were better ways to go about it."

Bette thumped her hand on the desk impatiently. "I don't care who did it or what was going through their demented minds. Just tell me where this "Samantha Parish" is. I have to see her. I have to know-"

Tyus put the folder under his arm and led the way. "Room 413."

The mausoleum was filled with white lilies. It had taken some doing to find a flower shop that could bring them on time, with the chaos the earthquake had left behind, but Gregory had always been good at making things happen. He felt the sun warm his back as he walked up the hill to the monument.

Olivia would be laid to rest here when Bette brought her body home. His hands were heavy as they opened the wrought iron gate. Gregory felt the warmth of the sun for a moment, letting it seep through him, before he entered the darkness. Twin shafts of light from the tiny windows beamed down onto the smooth floor.

Gregory set down his briefcase on the empty stone bench on one side. Olivia had always taken the left of the bed, so he choose the right now. Lying it down, he opened the neat brass clasps and stared down at the contents. He smiled softly as he sat down next to the open case. The perfume of the lilies floated through the cool air.

It wouldn't be long now.


	21. Romeo calls

"Immigration said they left the country for Amsterdam?" AJ asked his cell as he paced Olivia's room at the foot of her bed. "Cole wouldn't stay there. He doesn't know that country well enough." He tapped his fingers on the metal railing of Olivia's bed.

"She's really fine Sean." He insisted again as he watched Olivia sleep. "Annie switched her medical information with another poor woman's." Loosening his collar uncomfortably, AJ nodded even though Sean couldn't see the gesture.

"She is dead. The doctor's were trying to find her family." Wandering over to the window, even AJ couldn't help being pleasantly surprised when Sean asked about his father. "Bette went to tell him but I don't know if she found him yet. I'll call you as soon as she does."

Sean explained his theory. Caitlin had ran because she was afraid of losing Trey. Cole went with her because he would have followed her to the ends of the Earth. Annie needed Olivia 'dead' so Gregory wouldn't fight to regain his son.

"She must have known Olivia's 'death' would have thrown everything into chaos. And that it would have taken long enough to sort it out for her to make her big escape." AJ's mind wandered to where his son would have taken Caitlin. Where would Cole feel safe?

"You're right. I don't think Annie will turn up any time soon." He drummed his fingers against the window and watched the cars in the parking lot below. Finally the answer attacked him from the back of his memory. "You should talk to my mother. Tell her you're Caitlin's brother and you need to find her because Olivia's alive. Can you get up north? You and Emily have a car?"

Nodding quickly, he jotted himself a note to call his mother and make sure she sent Sean and Emily on their way with everything they needed. He had to call the airlines too. "Tell her hello for me. And remind her I'll be visiting next week. Good luck Sean. Make sure you two take good care of each other.. Bette would kill me if something happened to either of you." He clicked the phone shut and tucked it away in his jacket.

"That was your son Olivia." He leaned against the table and smiled at her sleeping form. "Your brilliant and practical son who's going to find his sister-" AJ paused and corrected himself. "And his brother. He'll bring your baby home. Bette's getting Gregory for you." He shoved off the table paced at the foot of the bed. "Your family's coming back together and they're doing it for you Olivia. You'd be proud of all of them. Gregory and Sean are getting along-"

He rested his hands on the foot of her bed and smiled down at her. "Gregory told Sean how proud he was of him. How wonderful he thought your son had turned out to be. I think it was a real turning point for them. It was a little odd though. For Gregory, I mean." He fidgeted with the edge of his jacket thoughtfully. "He just opened up to Sean. Poured his heart out even..."

Titling his head, it started to sink in how absolutely odd that was. "He didn't take this well." His head sank from his shoulders and he sighed heavily. "Not that any of us did but Gregory, he just stopped. Like he died with you. I've never seen that happen to a man before. Especially a man like him. He was this unstoppable force, all the time I've known him."

"And you die." He brought his hands together and sighed again, still dealing with the shock of everything that had happened. AJ couldn't help feeling numb. He'd lost one love, and started to gain another. "And the life goes out of him." Snapping his fingers, he mimed shutting off a light. "Just like that. He's going to be-"

AJ sank into his chair. "I don't even know what to expect" He tossed up his hands and let his eyes close. "There's a reason I left that to Bette. She's one of the few people he listens to." He looked up at her and winked playfully. "Besides you of course." He was starting to settle down. Even yawning a little as the mess of the last few days started to check up to him. His eyelids were getting heavy, even drifting down his face-

Bette destroyed all of that. She broke into Olivia's room in a whirl of discontent. AJ nearly jumped out of his chair. She circled him like a pouncing cat and grabbed his shoulders. "Gregory's lost it."

"What?"

"Gone off the deep end, postal, you name it, light bulbs missing, ducks out of order-" Bette's fingers shook as he tried to listen to her.

"What's going on Bette? What is it about Gregory?" AJ demanded as he forced her into the chair he'd just left.

She collapsed, shoulders shaking in barely controlled fear. "He's going to go all Romeo on us."

"Romeo?" AJ tried to think. His mind was running slower than it should be. "Romeo." He repeated as he flashed back to his boarding school days and the works of William Shakespeare. "You can't be serious."

Bette fought her way out of the chair and shoved the envelope into his hands. "Just look at it. Read it. It's all in there." She brought her hand to her mouth and tried not to sob into it. "He split his estate for the three of his children. Signed away his parental rights so Caitlin and Cole could raise Trey without contest. Gregory's letting Cole raise his son-"

AJ shook his head, unable to believe her even as he read the papers she'd handed him.

The papers rattled as she hit them. Bette shuddered and lost precious ground to her hysteria as her mind ran off without her. "He let Cole raise his son. Hell-" She pointed vigorously at the floor. "Hell is freezing over right now. Satan himself is looking up at us and asking what could possibly be going on."

Unable to read them AJ set Gregory's documents away and caught Bette's hands before she could hurt herself. "Where is he?"

"I don't know-"

"Where would he go?" AJ asked gently as he smoothed her hair back from her face. "Think Bette, think. Now where would he go?"

"How would I know?"

She pulled one hand free, but he caught it up again. "Shhhh- Just think Bette. Think logically. You're Gregory and you've lost everything that ever mattered to you, where do you go?"

"Our house." Olivia's voice startled them both more than a nuclear explosion.

AJ dropped Bette's hands. Dumbfounded completely, she stared at the bed.

Olivia swallowed, her throat was rough as sandpaper. Her tongue moved slowly, like it was carved from wood. She coughed and pulled herself up higher on the bed. Her arms were barely responding. Moving her stomach brought a flash of agony. Bette was suddenly there at her side. The pain faded into a pulling ache that was manageable.

"Our house. Number One-" AJ recovered enough to bring her a glass of water and she sipped it gratefully from his hand. "Not that ghastly Number Five."

"Okay- good, good-" Bette repeated as she sealed it into her mind. "Where else?"

"The office at Liberty." Olivia screwed shut her eyes as she forced herself to sit up. Her head swam for a moment, but she forced it away. Gregory needed her to save him from making the biggest mistake of his life. He needed her. "The boat, slip 81 at the marina."

"Hey not too fast-" AJ tried to keep her in bed as Olivia tried to swing her legs over the edge of the bed. "You have to stay put."

"No-" Olivia bit her lip against the steady ache in her stomach. "I have to help you."

'Help us by staying alive." Bette hugged her and pressed her back to the wall. "Because we can't handle losing you again." She patted Olivia's cheek as if she had to make sure she was stilly there. "It wasn't a good thing Livie, believe me. It's an awful world without you."

Olivia returned the embrace but she kept her eyes on AJ. "The rocky part of the beach, down past the Deep." She instructed him firmly. "We used to-" She had to sit back against the wall when Bette released her. Her head was still spinning. "Spend time there, before the children."

"Okay. Okay good." Bette forced herself to smile grimly. "We have a list. Let's split it up, cover more ground that way."

"I'll take the beach and the marina." AJ offered as he leaned down to kiss Olivia's cheek. "We'll find him. I promise."

Olivia squeezed his hand and felt the odd twinge of jealousy when she felt the cool metal of Bette's wedding ring against her face. Holding her face, Bette smiled down at her. Her eyelashes were wet for the hundredth time in the last few days. Olivia noticed that they were blonde. How long had it been since she had seen Bette without makeup?

"Keep him here for me." She begged as she pushed Bette away. "Go go find him."

Bette paused in the doorway. Turning around as she dug in her purse for her car keys. She started to smile at Olivia before she ran back to hug her again. "Oh Livie- Don't ever, ever do that to me again. I'm going to have to start dying the gray out of my hair because of you."

Olivia coughed but it was a closer approximation of a laugh. "Find my husband."

Running a hand down her cheek, Bette nodded sagely. "You bet I will." No corrections. No arguing. Their eyes met and as understanding was shared. Bette nearly ran out the door after AJ.

As soon as the door shut, Olivia swung her feet to the side of the bed. He'd be in the mausoleum, waiting for her. Neither of them would have been able to stop him. No matter what they said, Gregory would have succeeded. She had to be the one to stop him. She was the only thing he would believe in.

The floor stung her bare feet, and doubt surged up that she could even stand. How long had she been unconscious? What was the bandage on her stomach covering? It wasn't even the only one. There was another bandage on her arm, in the crook of her elbow. What was that from?

Olivia held on to the bed as she put the first tentative weight on her legs. To her astonishment, they held her up. She stood for a moment and tried to sort her mind.

i"You used to tell me how much you trusted me. This time I'm going to trust you. Don't leave me. Don't-"/i Gregory's words cut into her, leaving a wound as dangerous as the sealed one on her stomach.

Olivia crossed her arms over her chest and took a step. Her feet held. She needed clothing and a car. A quick glance around her room didn't turn up anything she recognized. A suitcase sat in the corner, but it wasn't at all familiar. Sinking to the floor next to it, she read the name tag.

"Well, Mrs. Samantha Parish. My name is Olivia and I need to borrow your clothes." The suitcase clicked open under her touched. It was mostly suits, dark and expensive, like Gregory's taste. She pulled out a blouse and held it up against her chest. The ache had grown weak in the flush of adrenaline. She barely felt it anymore. the blouse would do.

Olivia started to pull her arm out of the hospital gown as she set her jaw in determination. "I didn't leave you Gregory." She grabbed a camisole and pulled it over her head with effort. "i'll be dammed if I'm going to let you leave me."


	22. Juliet answers

Olivia pulled on the dead woman's blazer and forced herself upright. She pulled her hair back and looked for anything that could get her a car. Her purse was gone. She could call Gregory's driver. She rested her hand on the phone and tried to remember the number. Her mind was still tired, exhausted from her ordeal. Dr. Robinson was going to kill her when she got back, but only getting to Gregory mattered. She smoothed her blazer and gasped in pain when her finger ran across the scar in the center of her stomach. It was a single vertical incision that run a few inches but everything around it was sore. Breathing too quickly hurt.

"Sam?" Someone grabbed her arm and whipped her around. Pain lanced through her stomach.

Olivia gasped and struggled to keep her balance. The stranger grabbed her arms and kept her upright. "Sam- what are you doing out of bed?"

Shaking her head as she looked up into the face staring at her, Olivia repeated the strange name. "Sam? Who's Sam?"

"Samantha, my wife. This is her room." He grabbed her chin roughly and tilted her head up to look at her face. "This is her suit."

Shaking her head as the horror of his identity hit her, Olivia started to pull away but she didn't have the strength. "I borrowed it."

The stranger had soft blue eyes that were harsh with pain. "It was you." He dropped her hands and took a step back.

Olivia sank against the bed, left off-balance by the sudden release she nearly collapsed. The stranger caught her hands again, apologizing as he settled her down to sit on the bed. "You were the one they thought was her, weren't you? The one who's family thought you were dead."

His wedding ring was hand against the skin of her wrist, reminding her painfully of Gregory. "You look remarkably like her." He whispered as he seared her face into his mind before looking away.

"I have to go." Olivia pushed off the bed and started towards the door.

"I'm no doctor." He was a step behind her in case she fell again. "But I think you need to stay here unless you hurt yourself."

"I have to find my husband-" Chocking on her pain, Olivia caught the edge of the doorway for support. "He doesn't know I'm alive."

The stranger was too stunned to ask what was so horrible about that. Her eyes said everything he needed to know. "If I can't stop you, can I come with you?"

Nodding quickly, Olivia took a step out of the room as she waited for her adrenaline to chase the pain away long enough to do what she had to do. "Do you have a car?"

The keys jingled in his hand and he took her arm gallantly. "I do actually and believe it or not-" His voice caught bitterly in his throat. "I don't have any plans today, or tomorrow, or for the rest of my life."

He led her into the parking lot, keeping his grip on her arm. Olivia closed her eyes to keep the tears back. She couldn't waste her strength on emotion. "I am sorry."

"Sorry you lived?" He laughed softly, even smiling a little. "I wouldn't say that." He unlocked her side of his rental car and helped her into it. "Sam wouldn't want that."

"Sam's short for Samantha?" Looking down at her hands, she heard him get into the car next to her.

He nodded as he started the car and pulled out of his spot in the lot. "Samantha's too long."

"My husband calls me Liv." Olivia offered gently as she pointed to the left. "Turn here."

"Liv-" He thought for a moment. "Olivia?" He took his hand off the wheel and offered it to her. "David. David Parish from Ironwood-" He caught her confused look and smiled. "Michigan. About as far from sunny Southern California as you can get."

"Right here onto that service road." She directed as she shook his hand. "Olivia Richards."

"Good, now that we know each other you can tell me where I'm going." David settled in to wait for her story. It was good to have something to do. To be needed by someone, even if he was a temporary substitute. It kept him from facing the naked truth of his wife's death. The demon waiting for him at the end of the road.

The sun crept lower in the doorway to the mausoleum. Like a fickle lover, it caressed it's way down the marble without really warming him. Nothing felt warm anymore. Gregory sighed and touched his chest lightly. His heart beat inside of his chest because it had been too foolish to stop. How could it have kept going? Why had his body forced him to take matters into his own hands?

Gregory's eyes wandered to her side of the mausoleum. "I'll be waiting for you when you arrive Olivia. You won't have to spend any more time alone. Neither of us will." He lifted the syringe like a dagger, resting his thumb on the plunger as he contemplated his chest. The trick was to miss his ribs and sink the needle into his heart in one, swift blow.

His notes to his children were in his will. Bette knew how he felt. Everything was neatly tied up the way he liked it. All he needed was Olivia and he was getting her back. He was moments from getting her back. Gregory ran through his life, forcing the orderly recollection of his memories instead of the mad-cap rush of folklore. Childhood, countless thoughts of school, his parents, his relatives, his teachers, then professors, college girlfriends, peers and rivals-

Olivia eclipsed it all. Her smile, the way she could whisper "I love you" when she was entirely out of breath, her anger, her passion, the dimples in the small of her back above the curves of her butt. Everything. She was everything. And then there was her death. The gaping wound of her absence wouldn't heal. It wouldn't ease, it wouldn't diminish. Each moment compounded the horrible indignity that he lived while she was dead.

He drew back his hand and smiled at the needle clenched in his fist. This was right.

David had barely stopped the car and she was running up the hill towards the mausoleum. Olivia had been so pale in the car, he'd worried about her passing out before they even got to the cemetery she was so desperate to reach. When she saw the white marble, it didn't seem to matter what was between her and her husband.

Watching her rush up the grass, David couldn't blame her. If there was a chance, no matter how remote that Sam was alive up there he'd be right bedside her. Instead, he sank down into the warm grass at the foot of a gravestone. The rock was warm with the midday sun and he didn't have anywhere else to be. Nowhere to go but an empty house. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the comfort of the sunshine. "Sam- I think I'm going to get a dog, like we talked about-"

After the light of the sun, Olivia's eyes had trouble adjusting to the darkness of the mausoleum. It was the smell that accosted her first as she stumbled up to the doorway. Lilies, hundreds of them, had to be inside. He must have bought them. The darkness stung her eyes as she tried to force them to see. Shapes came first. A man, his back to her, something in his hand-

"Gregory-"

Sunlight lanced into his eyes as he turned around. Shock tightened his fingers, the voice was familiar. It was- but it couldn't be. It was a hallucination. Just like the apparition in the doorway. Her hair was on fire and it haloed her in shadow. She was beautiful. Heavenly beautiful.

He smiled at her, letting his vision carry him away. "Hello sweetheart." With all the strength in him, Gregory plunged the syringe into his chest.


	23. life

"No!" The vision shattered into Olivia's face. Stunning and terrified in the same moment of stillness.

Gregory crashed to the floor, falling to his knees as the needle tumbled from his fingers. She threw herself against his chest, sobbing as she stared at the small dark spot of blood marring his skin.

"No- no-" She ran her hands over his face, remembering every line with her finger tips as he stared at her.

Gregory felt her fingers like tiny cold butterflies, nearly insubstantial against his skin. He watched the pain run rampant over her face, erasing the smile from his dream.

Olivia slammed her hand over the blood, as if that would stop the poison in his veins. "No darling, no. Not now. Not like this. Not like this."

Gregory's chest shook as she pressed her hands against it. The shaking got to his throat and turned into laughter. Desperate, hysterical laughter that echoed through the stone. He wrapped his arms around her and clung to her, tighter and tighter until she gasped in pain.

It didn't matter.

"I love you." Olivia whispered as her breath returned. "I love you and you can't leave me like this. You can't."

He released her enough to kiss her cheek before crushing her to his chest again. "They said you were gone."

"No- No I wasn't." Olivia sobbed into the bare skin of his shoulder. "I'm here. I'm always going to be here. With you. You can't leave me. You can't-" Her chin quivered as she pulled away. Her eyes darkened and her hand cracked across his face.

"How could you do this!" She hit the needle to the farthest corner of the floor and raised her hand to hit him again. "Damn you. Damn-"

Covering her mouth with his fingers, Gregory was still chuckling in that infuriating way. "Olivia-"

"You can't leave me." Shuddering as she pulled away from him, Olivia wrapped her hands around her stomach and felt the world explode inside of her. "You can't. Not now, not like this. How could you! How could you?" Her trembling hands grabbed his face and shook him. "Gregory-"

Kissing her quieted her mania. In the pause of parted lips, he whispered, "I missed."

"What?" Olivia couldn't look away from his eyes. The perfection of his eyes.

"I missed." He took her hand and ran it over the hard line of his rib. "I missed. I saw you and I couldn't think. You've always distracted me Olivia."

Shaking her head in stunned disbelief, the swimming feeling in her head sank to envelop all of her body. "Gregory-" She tumbled into his arms, her strength finally giving out when she didn't need it anymore.

Gregory let her fall into his chest, guiding them both to the floor. The crunch beneath his back was cool and wet, somehow one of the planters had gotten knocked over.

Olivia was warm and heavy on his chest. Her hair tickled as she moved her head to watch him. He couldn't keep his eyes from him either. Olivia, alive and in his arms again was proof of heaven. Heaven existed in that moment. In the beat of her heart against his chest.

"Are you all right?" It was the most useless question to be asking her, but she seemed to enjoy the simplicity of it.

"No, of course not." Olivia kissed the bare skin of his chest and looked up at him reproachfully. "How could you?"

He ran his fingers through her hair meditatively and traced his thumb across her forehead. "Have you tried living without you?"

"But the children- Caitlin, Sean and-" Olivia caught herself short and the pain flooded back into her eyes. She dropped her head out of sight, too tired to keep it up anymore.

"And Trey." Gregory finished. His hand reached down until he found hers to squeeze in comfort. "You were asleep for awhile Liv. Things happened-"

"What things?" The spot of blood on his chest congealed before her eyes. Drying to a dark brown and starting to heal. Could they do the same?

"Dr. Robinson figured it out." Grudging admiration softened his tone. "Well, part of it at least. Trey and I have the same blood type. Cole couldn't be his father. Caitlin kept up her lie and the only conclusion the good doctor could come to was that I was his father and Cate was his mother."

Olivia gasped in shock and disgust settled over her. Gregory's hand on her back helped. So did the deep, musky smell that was unmistakably him.

"So Torres had me arrested." In hindsight, it was funny. Gregory smiled up at the ceiling of the mausoleum. In hindsight, all of it was hilarious. The mess of his life, his daughter stealing his baby son away. "Cate ran. She's still in Europe somewhere, but I think Sean will find her."

"All of our children are running around the continent somewhere-" Olivia sat up quickly, her concern adding new fuel to the fire. "And you don't care?"

"Cole's with them." Gregory added as an afterthought. "AJ sent Sean through his mother, something about a house in-" He shrugged off the name. "Wasn't paying attention when Bette told me."

"Cole's with them." Olivia repeated as if he had just announced his lifelong desire to become a trapeze artist. "And that makes it all okay. They're running around Europe with a "slightly-retired, fully-incompetent jewel thief," He recognized himself in her mocking tone, but still, all he could do was smile up at the sneer on her perfect lips.

"And you're smiling." She finished softly.

Gregory sat up, cradling her back into his arms as his free hand searched for one of the broken flowers on the floor. "You're alive." He snapped off the rest of the stem and tucked the white lily into her hair. "Smiling doesn't even begin to cover it. Running around and praising everything and everyone would be more appropriate, but smiling is a little easier to do with someone lying on my chest."

"I just had major surgery." Olivia pointed out with brutal honesty. "You're much more comfortable then the floor."

"I think you're the only one who's ever found me comfortable." He kissed his fingers before placing them on her forehead. "But I love that about you."

"I need you." Olivia whispered to his fingers as she pulled them down and held them tightly. "You saved me. You carried me all that way from AJ's car. You talked to me when I couldn't stay awake anymore."

"Can I tell you a secret?" He asked as he ran his free hand down her arm. The suit she was wearing was just a little too big. The sleeve was longer than hers would have been. It was rather endearing.

"Oh darling always," Olivia wondered if he had damaged the bone of his rib. The bloody spot in his chest could be the start of a nasty bruise. "Always."

"I don't think I did it for you." Her lips were warm as she kissed his fingers but she waited for him to finish. "Don't misunderstand me Liv- I'd walk through fire for you, it's just-" He shook his head and searched for the words he wanted in the darkness of the mausoleum's ceiling. "I couldn't lose you. I couldn't watch you die. I-"

The lily tumbled out of her hair as she crept up to his face. "It's all right to need someone. In fact-" Brushing his hair out off his face, Olivia felt the tear escape from her eye. "In fact, it's rather sweet."

"Oh is it?" He met her lips and tasted the sweetness of the past. "I'm glad you think so."

"I love that you need me. I love that you're always trying to protect me." She toyed with the fullness of his lower lip and smiled softly. "There are plenty of things about you that I have a hard time dealing with. But, I love you. God-" She trailed down his chin and sighed heavily. "I don't think that 'I love you' is even good enough anymore. I just don't know what else to say."

"Then don't." Pulling her head down to kiss her again was the most natural thing in the world. Olivia was alive and he loved her. What else was there?

Her eyes had opened during the kiss and he got to watch them drink him in. Her ice blue irises were so thin in the darkness. Her pupils could swallow him whole. At some point they had. Her mouth was dry as his tongue strayed into it.

Gregory jolted back, sitting up and staring at her as his concern came rushing back. "I have to get you back to the hospital."

Olivia sighed sleepily. Sitting up was more of a chore than she had realized. "You may have a point darling."

His hands closed around her wrists and he pulled her to her feet. "I'm sorry."

She reached down to brush off her clothes out of habit, but she stopped herself with the pain of her injuries knifed back. This time, he was here to hold on to her. Gregory cleaned her clothes for her. Careful to keep her from bending her waist, his hands caught her hips.

Sighing as she leaned back against him, Olivia let her eyes close. It did hurt. When her panic faded, exhaustion and the aches that came with it returned. That dizzy feeling was back as well. How long had it been since she'd eaten anything?

"How did you get here?" Gregory asked her as he found a safe place for his hands on his shoulders. "I can't imagine the good Dr. Robinson was too keen on letting you out."

Olivia's head rolled back against his shoulder. "I snuck out. My records got mixed up with another woman who died. Her clothes were in my room and I took them. Her husband-" Her hands fluttered towards the door. "His name is David. He drove me. He thought I was her when he saw me. He'll drive us back."

"All right." He ran his hands down her arms and back up again before circling her. Gregory lifted his arms to behind his neck. "Let's get you back to the hospital."

Olivia lowered one eyebrow suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"Oh come now Liv-" Gregory scooped her up into his arms without warning. "You remember this. Just keep your arms up and your eyes on me."

"I've never been able to keep my eyes off of you." She quipped as she gave in and rested her head against his neck. "Thank you."

"For being my usual controlling self? I don't think you should really do that. It'll go to my head." Gregory couldn't believe it was all ready dark. How much time had they spent in limbo? Time was entirely relative with Olivia in his arms. He took great care on his way down the hill, letting his eyes find the obstacles before his feet could.

A silhouette of a man jumped up from behind one of the larger headstones. David must have heard his footsteps. He waved shyly. Gregory's hands weren't available for a handshake. "Back to South Bay?" Hurrying to open the back door, he got his first look at Gregory when the interior light illuminated his face. David took in the exhausted circles beneath Gregory's eyes.

Gregory caught the tracks of tears on David's face. He kissed Olivia again as he set her gently into the car. Stroking her cheek lovingly as he spoke to the other man, Gregory couldn't believe his luck. Another turn of fate and he could have been the one who had lost everything. David shook his hand, forcing himself to be civil.

"David Parish."

"Gregory Richards." He sighed and lowered his voice so Olivia wouldn't hear his concern. "Thank you for getting her here safely."

David nodded to give himself time to find his voice. "I don't think you realize how important love is until it's-"

Gregory stared right at him and bobbed his head once curtly. "No. We don't." He looked down at Olivia's feet on the seat of the car. ""We don't have the slightest idea what we have." Silence was heavy with grief between them, making the air thick like summer humidity.

He got into the car and pulled Olivia into his arms. He cradled her like the most precious thing in the world. Gregory held her for David and every other man who wasn't as lucky as he had been. Her shoulders were heavy, and her head was the perfect weightt against his chest. The kind of weight that belonged there.


	24. the master's hand

Standing up and stretching lazily, "I'll check on dinner," Gregory promised.

Olivia watched him from her place on the patio. 'Don't be gone long." She requested softly.

Turning mid-step, Gregory knelt on the flagstones. "I won't." Her hand wandered to his shoulder and he caught it, smiling at her patiently. "I just want to see what Rose left for us. Call it curiosity."

She blinked at him slowly as he kissed the back of her hand and returned it. "Okay darling. You be curious." Olivia let her eyes close on his face. "I'll be right here."

"I'm counting on that." Gregory teased as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Two weeks since the accident and her skin tasted like he remembered. No more hospital antiseptic and soap, just warmth and sweetness.

Shutting the patio door, he watched her through the glass for a moment before turning to his surprise. "She doesn't suspect a thing." He announced to his guests. "Everyone ready?"

Sean handed Trey to Bette's waiting arms. "I think so dad." Glancing over to his sister, he smiled bravely for her benefit. "It was really good of you to let us do this. I know it'll mean a lot to her."

Gregory dropped a hand to his son's shoulder and dug in his fingers to get his attention. "To both of us." He met his gaze seriously. "You have no idea what it meant to hear your voice on the other end of the phone. And then all you brought back with you..." Looking over his shoulder at his daughter, he still didn't dare smile too long at her.

Caitlin sighed and tried to keep her feelings to herself. "I'm here for mom. Mom deserves to know that I'm okay about this." This was giggling up at Bette as she tickled his cheeks. Trey grinned giddily at AJ when he waved a toy in his face. Chubby fists batted at the little stuffed rabbit before he got it.

Sean watched the scene with quiet appreciation. AJ was in his house. Sitting on his father's sofa, and he didn't seem to mind a bit. Gregory tugged playfully at the rabbit and lit up when Trey smiled in his direction.

"Do you want the little slugger?" Bette offered, meeting Gregory's eyes and feeling the unaccustomed warmth.

"I think I'm going to have my hands full with Olivia." He volunteered as her eyes softened with concern.

"You don't think she's going to faint?" Bette settled Trey on her lap and encircled him with her hands. "She's been doing so well lately, I wouldn't want to jeopardize anything-"

His laughter nearly carried out to the patio. "This woman dragged herself out of her hospital bed and across Sunset Beach to find me. I think she can handle a little surprise. Especially a positive one."

"What have you been telling her all this time?" Cole asked softly from the doorway. He looked deflated, losing his son and gaining a brother-in-law had been more than difficult for him. Caitlin looked up at him but she still had trouble with eye contract. She hadn't even had expected him to return with her to Sunset Beach. Least of all that Gregory would make him accepted in his own house.

Gregory couldn't help liking the deflated Cole. The defeated man who's perfect little wife had lied to him about their child. Who hadn't even given him a chance to grieve because she'd been too afraid to lose him.

"That I'm looking for you. That my sources are all looking for you, that AJ and Bette are looking for you." Gregory looked back out over the patio, making sure she was still safe.

Bette waved her naked hand in his direction and then pointedly at AJ. "You did tell her about the annulment, didn't you?"

Sean winked at AJ and nudged him in the side, making sure he caught the significance of the gesture. AJ wisely said nothing and kept his eyes on Trey.

"Of course I did." Gregory paced over the dining room and checked the line of candles down the table. Rose had filled the wall sconces with roses and the scent filled the room with a cloud of perfume. "I made sure to mention it in passing last night."

"The dining room looks amazing." Bette added with a professional nod as she tucked Trey into his high chair. "Just amazing, Rose really earns her overtime, doesn't she?"

Sean took his place next to Trey and Emily slipped shyly into the chair next to him. Something might be there, AJ teased Bette with a wink and a nod. Bette left the head of the table open for Olivia, and Gregory pulled out her chair took one last look over the table.

"Greggy- it's perfect, go get her and get this over with." Bette shoved him towards the patio playfully, and the hint of a smile on his face was her reward.

Gregory obeyed, a rarity for him. He crept to the side of her chair as softly as he could. Olivia still looked up toward him and smiled with her eyes closed. "What's for dinner darling?"

Reaching down for her hands, Gregory lifted her to her feet. "Something special. I think you'll agree Rose really outdid herself."

"Oh really?" Olivia raised an eyebrow playfully and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. The spot of warmth sent a shiver down his spine.

"Really." He promised with a stern glance that mocked his own usual level of seriousness. "Just trust me."

She held his hands to her stomach and ran them teasingly over her chest to stop on the scar he insisted was just as beautiful as the rest of her. "I think that goes without saying."

"Now-" Gregory teased as his thumb found the slippery satin of her bra through the thicker fabric of her sweater. "You trust me now. If I had known all it took was both of us staring death in the face-"

"You would have arranged something long ago." She tapped his chin playfully and steered him towards the dining room. "Come on darling, I want to see what's so special about this dinner."

"Oh you'll see." He growled under his breath, reminding himself that admiring her legs wasn't going to get him anywhere. Gregory shut the patio doors behind them and sighed happily. "It was a good idea to take back the old house."

"It wasn't my idea darling-" Olivia folded her arm into his. "All I said was that it looked less damaged than the new one."

"All the same," Gregory paused at the door to the dining room. "I missed that patio. I missed the sculpture above the doorway. I missed these funny Spanish wooden doors. I missed our-"

"Bed." Olivia finished as she hushed him with a sorrowful kiss. "Later." Her forehead rested cooly against his cheek for a moment. "When we get the okay from Dr. Robinson."

"I know, I know." He ran his hand down over her chest. Her breasts were still so amazing. Even though he had them memorized, whenever he thought about her cleavage at length, or let himself stare at it from across a room, he couldn't help feeling like he was seeing them for the first time. As if he didn't know what he'd find when he finally coaxed her out of that simple black sweater.

"I'll just be grateful when we're in charge of our own sex lives again."

Olivia giggled at his grim acceptance. He opened the door and missed the secretive smile she directed at the back of his head. Helping clean up after the quake had added a little definition to the muscles of his back that was positively alluring.

It wasn't until she heard Sean's polite cough that she was able to drag her eyes and mind out of the pleasurable gutter she had fallen into.

"Oh my-" The last syllable of her exclamation turned into a gasp. Her family surrounded her. Her entire family. Sean, Caitlin and her lost little boy- Olivia's first step quavered and Gregory's hand steadied her.

"Gregory-" Her shock ran up her spine and as soon as she blinked her eyelashes were damp. "Gregory- you-"

AJ coughed and nodded to her eldest son. "Sean did most of it."

Gregory led her to their children and tilted his head towards AJ in respect. "He did. He tracked down Caitlin and Cole."

Caitlin stood up with great effort. Her hands trembled until she found her voice. "And he convinced me that no matter what I felt, little boys needed their mothers."

"Oh sweetheart-"

Her daughter stopped the inevitable apology. "And mom-" Caitlin broke into a real attempt at a smile. "Sometimes grown-up women need them too." She reached out for her mother and hugged her as tightly as she dared.

"We are going to check and double check your medical records from now on." Bette joked as she uncorked a bottle of champagne. "Nothing will go overlooked Livie. Trust us on that."

Caitlin dropped a hand to her little brother's shoulder and insisted he get up. Sean started to blush the moment he looked at his mother. "Mom, don't cry. I wanted you to be happy."

"I am happy." Olivia insisted as she grabbed both of her grown children with a strength they had doubted she possessed. "I'm so happy I could-"

Bette tossed the champagne cork at her and it bounced lightly off her shoulder. "Don't even think about it."

Emily freed Trey from his chair at Gregory's nod and handed him to Sean. Sean took the lead this time and Gregory felt his heart swell with an unusual feeling of pride for his son.

"Emily, Bette, AJ and I had to get him a new passport in the American Embassy in Paris just to get him home, but we thought you'd like to know that we mutually decided on-"

Bette raised one of the champagne glasses she was filling. "I voted for Malachi. He is Greggy's son after all-"

Gregory gave her a dirty look as he took the glass of champagne from her hand.

AJ piped up guiltily as well. "I rather liked Armando-"

Bette handed him a glass with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Fancy that."

Sean shook his head and smiled at his mother and little brother as the baby entwined his fingers in her hair. "I knew you and Dad wanted him to be named after Dad, and though I thought it was a terrible idea when you were talking about it..." He looked over at his father for a moment before turning back to his mother's glowing expression. "I made sure his name was changed to Gregory Richards Jr. Just like you and Dad wanted." He shrugged to keep for looking too supportive of his father. "I think it grew on me."

Olivia grabbed him and crushed him to her with her free hand. "Honey- I am so, so very proud of you."

"Proud enough to let me in on the champagne?" Sean teased as he freed himself and retreated, blushing crimson, to his chair.

Gregory set a glass in front of him. "Go ahead, you just have to stay in tonight."

The smell of dinner cut through the roses and whetted the appetites of everyone present. Emily leaned over to him with a quiet grin. "That shouldn't be too hard."

"And the dinner was lovely darling. Absolutely lovely. However did you manage to get all of them into the house without me noticing?" Olivia set down her hair brush as she turned around on the vanity bench to smile at him with naked admiration.

Gregory stretched out on the bed and rolled up on his elbows to grin back devilishly. "You did fall asleep on me."

"That's right..." Olivia let her chocolate silk robe slip from her shoulders and reveal the low-cut back of her nightgown. The shade of ivory lent a glow to her skin in the weak light of the bedroom.

Gregory set aside the contractor's statement he was pretending to read and let his eyes wander the perfect line of her spine.

Olivia caught his hungry expression in the mirror as she picked up her hairbrush again. Pretending to tire with a difficult spot on the back of her head, she asked, "Darling would you be so kind?"

He left the bed in a moment and settled on the bench next to her. His pajama encased knee touched her thigh and left a hot spot that nearly shattered her resolve. Olivia closed her eyes and let him work out the last of the tangles in her hair. When he finished and set the brush down, Gregory dug gentle fingers into the knots of tension in her shoulders. His touch on her bare skin was gasoline on the fire.

Olivia slid the strap of her nightgown aside to give him unlimited access, but Gregory stopped just above her waist. "We can't." He whispered with greater remorse than she'd heard from him in a long time.

"We can talk." She hated lying to him nearly as much as she hating having him stop touching her.

Gregory rested his chin on her shoulder and covered her hands with his own. "All right."

Olivia brought her hands over his and snuggled into the warmth of his chest. "We haven't really talked about what happened."

He fidgeted with her fingers, and hugged her a little closer. "Do we need to?"

"No darling." Olivia turned around, slipping her legs inside of his as she faced him. "We don't. I think we are all right the way we are."

"I agree." Gregory switched his hands to her knees, enjoying the smooth silk over the smoother skin of her legs.

"And I'm happy." Olivia sighed deliciously and naughtily pulled a leg up over the bench. Her nightgown pulled tight for a moment before she found the slack in the skirt and let it fall between them. "Gregory, I am happier here with you than I've been in a very long time."

He played with the fabric and found her bare knee. Resisting the urge to tickle her, Gregory settled for burying his hands in silk.

Olivia burst into the same radiant smile she'd had at the dinner table. "At the risk of jinxing myself, I'm happier than I've ever been, right here. At this moment."

He wrinkled his nose playfully and kissed hers. "Don't get superstitious on me now."

He loved listening to her laugh. Olivia pushed him back a bit and tried to be serious as she toyed with something small on her dresser. "Would you mind just listening to me for a moment? So I don't lose my place?"

"Not at all." He folded his hands in his lap and channeled his professional calm. "Go ahead, I won't say a word until you let me."

Her hands retreated into her lap and Olivia watched them for a long moment before beginning. "You know I love you. and I think you know I love you more now than I ever had because I trust you. You saved my life, you literally pulled me from the jaws of death." Olivia couldn't watch the pain in his face so she kept her eyes on her hands. "And if that wasn't enough, you were ready to follow me to the afterlife."

Olivia's voice dropped in embarrassment. "I never believed anyone could feel that way for me. Where I was the center of their universe. I didn't think I could feel that way-" Looking up at him brought a flush to her cheeks. "At least not until I met you."

His half-smile made her blush all that more brightly. "You were extraordinary. You lived life more passionately than anyone I had ever met, or even heard about. You were unique. Fascinating and dangerous and wonderful all at the same time. Having you, and winning your heart made me feel like I could be as special and as amazing as you asked me to be."

Her hands stayed firmly in her lap, but Olivia's eyes wandered, her eyebrows tightened as more unpleasant memories came to the surface. "I'm not trying to forget our hard times because if we did that, if we let ourselves go on as if nothing had happened, our relationship wouldn't be what it is." Her hair bounced gently on her cheek as she turned back to him.

"And it's the most precious thing in the world to me-" Olivia caught him opening his mouth to interrupt and corrected herself for him. "Aside from our children."

Gregory kept quiet but he shared her contentment. It was impossible not to when it radiated off of her like it was light itself.

She lifted her hands, still clenched together and opened them up just in front of him. Lying in a perfect circle on the outstretched shelf of her palm, was his wedding ring. "We share a past, beautiful and terrifying as it may be, it's ours. It's our house. And now with our children here it's a home again. Our home. We're bound together by so many things, it only seems right that the future should be ours as well."

Olivia giggled suddenly as nerves got the better of her. "You'll have to forgive me if I get this wrong, I've never had to do it before." Slipping off the bench, Olivia knelt carefully on the floor next to his feet. His wedding band was still there in her hand, waiting for him.

"Gregory Richards-will you marry me?" Lips trembling as if she was caught on the verge between laughter and tears, Olivia waited.

It was Gregory's turn to be speechless. He tried to open his mouth, but nothing happened. Finally, clumsily, he reached for the ring as he slipped off the bench to join her on the thick carpet of their bedroom.

"Liv-" He blurted out finally, feeling as tongue-tied as a freshman again. Nothing he could think of was good enough to be a response.

Melting her lips into his, Olivia took the last of his breath away. Leaving him emptied on the floor, she retreated to the bed and sat down on the corner. Leaning forward gave him a spectacular view of her cleavage, and she knew it by the wicked glint in her eye. "I thought you might need some time to think, and I saved this as the perfect way to give you the time to decide what you wanted to say."

Olivia reached for the strings holding the front of her nightgown closed. "Dr. Robinson gave me the okay."

"Okay?" Gregory looked from her to his wedding ring and back to her. Incredulity made him look like a little boy again. "Liv-" His eyebrows shot up in surprise as her suggestion cut it's way home. "Olivia-"

She dropped all pretense and snapped her fingers as if he were Spike into the garbage again. "Get over here right now."

Gregory slid his wedding ring onto his hand for safe keeping as he climbed up to the bed. "As you wish."

Olivia found his wedding ring on his hand and twisted it once playfully. "Don't give in too much." She ran the string for the front of her nightgown right beneath his nose. "I might get used to it."

Starting at the bottom of the bodice, he ripped the lacing open. Gasping her shock and appreciation, Olivia was still startled when he shoved her back to the bed. "Can't let that happen now, can I?"

"No..." Olivia bit her lip and shivered as he started to work his way up. "You really just can't."


End file.
